BlacknwhiteIchiRuki2
by Theresa Crane
Summary: IchiRuki one shots within. Rated M for mature content. If you love Ichigo & Rukia, then come on in. Kubo Tite owns Bleach, not me! Also, a 11 chapter series within, along with other continuations!
1. Thank You Zangetsu

**A/N-This is the second collection of Ichigo & Rukia one shots that I'm starting. If you're familiar with my writing, then you pretty much know what to expect, and if you're new, then prepare yourself for some major IchiRuki love from me. You can also visit the Black & White IchiRuki forum that I recently started to discuss Bleach! I always enjoy talking to fellow IchiRuki fans :) If you like You Tube slide shows, then I have two IchiRuki videos up, and the links are in my profile! Enjoy!**

_Thank You, Zangetsu_

When Zangetsu hears thunder, he lets out a big aggravated sigh. This is always the indication that Rukia is either leaving to go to Soul Society, or she's hurt. Since Ichigo isn't in soul form, Zangetsu isn't sure which it is yet, since Ichigo's thoughts aren't even reaching him, only the thunder.

_Why is your heart in pain again Ichigo? What on earth is happening out there?_

Zangetsu looks in worry at the sky activity in Ichigo's inner world, and then the hollow appears.

"Something big must be happening. It's been awhile." The hollow says, even though he is as unaware of why this change is happening as Zangetsu is.

"It's because of her." Zangetsu says with a sureness in his voice.

"It's always because of her…at least that's how it's been since I got here." The hollow says in a flippant voice. "She is the key to my awakening."

"She is the key, but not to that." Zangetsu says as he turns his back on the hollow.

_She is the key to the blue skies, and happiness in his heart._

"Idiot, what do you think will happen if something happens to her? Even Ichigo wouldn't be able to stand up against me then." The hollow tells him, and Zangetsu takes a few steps away before he turns back.

"Ichigo and I will never let anything happen to her." Zangetsu tells him in a hard voice.

"I know you have a soft spot for her, after all, she's the reason you woke up too." The hollow says with an amused laugh.

"That was only how things started, that is not why I want her to live." Zangetsu says, even though the hollow isn't really listening, since lightening has started to streak across the skies.

"Hmm, I wonder what is happening," The hollow says as he stares mesmerized by the constant lightning, flashing around the inner world.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good." Zangetsu says in a low voice, as he too stares at the sky. Rain hasn't started to fall yet, but Zangetsu thinks it will start anytime now.

Zangetsu can't help but to feel complete shock when Ichigo suddenly lands in his inner world with the two of them.

"Ichigo…what on earth is happening?" Zangetsu asks him, as Ichigo looks around.

"It's Inoue…" Ichigo mutters in aggravation. "She told Rukia that she loves me, and Rukia is packing to leave for Soul Society." Ichigo says in a voice filled with despair.

"What?" Zangetsu says in shock.

"I don't know how to make Rukia stop." Ichigo says softly to Zangetsu, giving him a very helpless look.

"Look around you, Ichigo. This is only going to get worse, if you let her go." Zangetsu says, in a hard voice.

Ichigo looks up at the flashing lightning, and can hear the booming thunder. It's so strong that his inner world is shaking from the tremors of it.

"She has her mind made up!" Ichigo says in a panicked voice.

"Then unmake it!" Zangetsu says, his voice nearly reaching a shout. Ichigo is taken aback by the emotion in Zangetsu's voice.

"What?" Ichigo asks, with uncertainty filling his voice.

"If you let her go…it will be something you will only be able to regret. Could you ever actually find happiness with that other girl? I don't think so. If you end up with that other girl, the rain will never stop falling in here. You'll drown me until we both die. I cannot let you just watch her walk away. You had better do something about this right now. Do whatever it takes, do you hear me?!" Zangetsu says to Ichigo, giving him a hard glare.

"How do I keep her?" Ichigo asks in a pitiful voice.

"Tell her that you love her, tell her that you'll follow her, tell her everything that you've always kept hidden. I don't know why you don't tell her anyways, it will only make your bond stronger if you do. If you had already told her how you felt, she might not be reacting the way she is right now." Zangetsu says in a steely voice.

"When did you become this pathetic anyways? If you want, I can come out and play with Rukia-chan, since you're too chicken to do it yourself," The hollow taunts, and Zangetsu is pleased to see some fire back in Ichigo's eyes.

"Shut up!" Ichigo growls at his annoying inner hollow.

"Go on, you don't have anymore time to waste here." Zangetsu says, and Ichigo nods at him, before he opens his eyes. Rukia is gathering the last of her things. Ichigo stands up and walks over to her to grab her by the shoulders.

"I'm not letting you leave." Ichigo says, more aware of the thunder rolling around in his inner world than he was before he had visited Zangetsu.

"I have to leave." Rukia mutters, and Ichigo tightens his hold on her arms.

"Then I'm coming with you." Ichigo tells her in a tight voice.

"You can't." Rukia says as she drops her bag and turns her head to look back at him.

"Try and stop me." Ichigo tells her in a hard voice.

"I can, you know. I know top notch binding spells. Is that what I have to do to leave here in peace?" Rukia asks him without wavering. Ichigo can feel himself losing what calm he had gained from Zangetsu. He quickly takes a deep breath and gives her a hard glare.

"If you pull that, then I'll just have Urahara open the gate for me. You can't get rid of me that easily." Ichigo tells her quietly, before he pulls her closer so that her back is leaning against his front.

"Don't be foolish," Rukia whispers, since all she can do is feel pain. It hurts to know that her good friend Inoue is in love with Ichigo. Rukia wants to leave because Inoue admitted that she would share her feelings for Ichigo. Rukia doesn't want to be around when that happens.

"It doesn't matter that Inoue is in love with me, I'll tell her the same thing I'm telling you…I only want to be with you, Rukia. I love you." Ichigo says before he lays his cheek against the top of her head and holds her to his body. Rukia doesn't fight to get away, instead, he can only hear her struggling to keep her breathing calm.

"You really will follow me, won't you?" Rukia asks in a small voice, and Ichigo smiles as he keeps his cheek against the silkiness of her hair.

"You'd better believe it." Ichigo tells her. Rukia lets out a big sigh.

"I can't. And you love me?" Rukia asks him next, her voice showing her disbelief. "I didn't think you'd ever actually admit that. I lost my mind a little bit at Inoue's confession." Rukia says before she moves to turn around and face him. Ichigo straightens up and lets go of her so that she can look up at him.

"You can't just leave me. Even Zangetsu knows how important you are to me. Inoue could never mean to me, what you mean to me. Hell, of all of my friends, I feel the least amount of connection to her." Ichigo tells Rukia.

"I guess I have no choice…I'll just have to stay here with you then." Rukia says, as she tries not to smile.

"I told you I love you…don't you have anything to say about that?" Ichigo asks, looking a bit like his feelings are hurt.

"You'll spend the rest of your life making me happy." Rukia informs him, and Ichigo's mouth falls open a bit at that comment.

"What?" Ichigo asks, since he was fully expecting a confession from her in return.

"I expect a lot from you." Rukia says as she stares up at him.

"I expect something from you too," Ichigo grumbles at her, and Rukia's eyes look surprised.

"Like what?" Rukia asks without a clue as to why he's getting so upset.

"When someone tells you they love you…you're supposed to tell them how you feel." Ichigo says in a tight voice. Rukia blushes at that.

"I'd prefer to show you." Rukia finally says as she looks up at him.

Ichigo can feel his heart skip a beat at the way she looks at him. Then she walks away from him to drag over his desk chair. Ichigo watches in confusion until she positions it right in front of him, and then stands on top of it and looks down at him.

Rukia's eyes seem to sparkle as she leans down to kiss him on the lips. She puts her hands into his orange hair and kisses the hell out of him. Ichigo's eyes are closed, but he can see his inner world. Rainbows have appeared _everywhere_.

Ichigo kisses her back and forgets all about his earlier apprehension and pain.

_It's all because of you, thank you Zangetsu._


	2. Going After Rukia

**/N-I'm borrowing a character, on loan from ObliviousWarrior89, since I finally came up with an idea where I believed I could use him. If you see Esteban Gobernadorro in another story, that's why. This is a rather long one shot too. This story is also dedicated to Oblivious for being kind enough to offer me the use of his character.**

**This story takes place after Soul Society recently learns that the Aizen they believe they defeated was an illusion, brought about by his zanpakutou, which was why he had worked to get Ichigo's entire crew into Hueco Mundo. At this point I have no clue what will happen in Bleach so this may seem really far off if you're reading this way after I wrote it, so sorry if that's the case!**

_Going After Rukia_

When Ichigo wakes up and heads downstairs, he doesn't see Rukia, and that surprises him. Ever since they learned that Aizen was still alive and still in Hueco Mundo, she has been deep in thought a lot lately. Sure Inoue is safely back in the living world, but Aizen is still a threat. Ichigo knows that this consumes her mind.

She has never forgotten how he took the Hougyoku from her body and then ordered Gin to kill her. She has never forgotten how Gin's blade pierced her brother instead of her, since he came right in and saved her from certain death.

Ichigo sees Karin and Yuzu in the kitchen and he looks at them.

"Where's Rukia?" Ichigo asks, and the girls both shrug.

"She wasn't in bed when we woke up," Karin informs him, and Yuzu nods her head in agreement.

"To be honest, we thought she was with you," Yuzu tells him, causing Ichigo to turn a bit red.

"What would make you think that?" Ichigo asks them, through his blushing.

"Maybe it's the way you two look at each other." Karin says, as she rolls her eyes. Ichigo's eyes widen at her words, though. His sisters have noticed the looks that they give each other?

A pounding on the door distracts them from their conversation, and Ichigo walks over and opens the door. Renji dashes inside.

"Is Rukia here?" Renji asks immediately, and Ichigo scowls at him.

"No, I'm not sure where she is. She wasn't here, when I woke up." Ichigo responds.

"There was an alert last night, and Rukia went to take care of it." Renji says worriedly. Ichigo glares at him.

"Without me? I don't think so." Ichigo says as he crosses his arms.

"What are you talking about?" Yuzu asks, and Karin drags her away.

"Don't worry about them," Karin says, even as she feels a bit of dread in her stomach. She had woken up when Rukia jumped out the window. It had been a terrifyingly strong reiatsu.

"She didn't take you, I already knew that much." Renji says with a frantic look on his face.

"Is there something that you're not telling me?" Ichigo asks him with a raised eyebrow.

"The notice came through that a reiatsu at the level of a captain or higher entered the living world last night." Renji tells him.

"Why wouldn't she take me then?" Ichigo demands angrily. Renji shakes his head.

"Probably because of all of the recent hollow attacks, you got no sleep the past few nights night before last." Renji mutters, and Ichigo rolls his eyes.

"Neither did she," Ichigo points out, and Renji sighs at him.

"She has been a Shinigami for decades, she was probably worried that you'd get yourself killed fighting a powerful opponent when you needed rest." Renji tells him, and Ichigo growls in frustration.

"She had better be okay," Ichigo says in a low voice.

"She's not. If she's not here, then the worst has happened." Renji says in a low voice.

"You're saying she's dead?" Ichigo demands angrily, and Renji slowly shakes his head no.

"I'm saying that after visiting the location of the fight and collecting the reiatsu there, it has been confirmed that the reiatsu that showed up was Aizen's." Renji tells him, and Ichigo grabs him around the neck.

"Why in the hell didn't you say that to begin with, you idiot?" Ichigo asks as he chokes Renji a bit.

"I was ordered to come here to see if she was here, since there was no sign of her at the site of the fight. According to Soul Society's intelligence, she released her zanpakutou, but after a few minutes, her reiatsu suddenly just disappeared. Aizen can't consume a Shinigami body, so we should have found her on the site if she was unconscious or dead." Renji tells him urgently.

"So that means Aizen kidnapped her?" Ichigo asks with wide eyes.

"It seems to have become a bad habit of his, kidnapping the only women you'll leave the living world to save. You know what this means, don't you?" Renji asks him with a pained look on his face.

"Yep, it means it's time to go back to Hueco Mundo." Ichigo says angrily.

"No you fool, it means Aizen is preparing for another attack on Soul Society. He already knows you won't look as he releases his zanpakutou, and you are one of the only people who could actually help in the true fight of him since you wouldn't be fooled unless you watched him release his zanpakutou." Renji tells Ichigo with a pained look in his eyes.

"Rukia means more to me than all of Soul Society combined…you should know that." Ichigo tells him, as he rushes past Renji and out of the house. He stops fast when he sees the Captain Commander standing there, and Renji groans as Ichigo pops out of his body.

"So it's true then, he has captured Kuchiki Rukia?" The Captain Commander's voice causes Ichigo's eyes to narrow.

"It's also true that I'm going to go and get her back." Ichigo tells him, and the old man pounds his cane to the ground.

"I forbid it." He tells him, and Ichigo just gives him an icy stare for a second before he responds.

"I don't give a fuck what you forbid or permit. I'm going to go get Rukia back, to hell with the rest of you." Ichigo says even as the old man lifts his cane and releases it into his zanpakutou.

"I can not allow you to rush into such foolishness for a second time. We have no reason to believe that Kuchiki Rukia is even still alive." The Captain says, as his reiatsu begins to build. Ichigo grasps Zangetsu tightly as he gives the old man a hard look.

"You can't go against him, Ichigo!" Renji says from behind him.

"Stand back, Renji. I don't care how many Shinigami I have to cut through in order to save Rukia. She's the only one of any of you, that's worth anything anyways!" Ichigo hisses as his eyes begin to turn blue with reiatsu.

"I said I forbid it." The Captain Commander says in a harsh voice, and Ichigo scoffs.

"And I don't give a damn what you say. Didn't I make that clear? It's my life to risk, and I'd risk it anytime for Rukia." Ichigo says in a deep voice.

"If you go and recover her, she will be exiled from Soul Society until Aizen's death, since we cannot guarantee that she would even be the real thing." The Captain Commander informs Ichigo.

"She doesn't need Soul Society, she can stay here, with me." Ichigo says as he lifts Zangetsu high in the air.

"You're putting her above the rest of the world?" The Captain Commander asks, causing Ichigo's mouth to fall open a little bit before he gives the old man a determined look.

"Always." Ichigo says fervently.

"Then I will permit you to go, since you have sworn to take care of her yourself if you are able to recover her. You do understand that she may be with you for the rest of your life, don't you?" The Captain Commander asks, wondering if Ichigo even realizes the repercussions of his actions.

"Nothing would make me happier," Ichigo says in a tight voice, before he puts Zangetsu on his back and rushes to Urahara's place.

_Damn it, Rukia! Why didn't you take me with you?_

Ichigo wonders about that as he enters Urahara's shop. The answer suddenly comes to him so quick, he feels like an idiot. Of course, Aizen used his hypnosis to make sure that Rukia would come alone!

"Good morning, Kurosaki-san!" Urahara says in a singsong voice, since he's completely unaware of the situation. "Where is Kuchiki-san?" Urahara asks in surprise.

"Urahara-san. I need you to open up the path to Hueco Mundo, again. Rukia's been captured by Aizen." Ichigo tells him in a hard voice. Urahara's eyes go completely wide.

"She would never go with him willingly, I wonder how he was able to capture her. She's not an easy lady to overpower." Urahara says, as he remembers several times where he felt how hard Rukia could actually punch.

"All I know is she released her zanpakutou, and then her reiatsu disappeared within a few minutes of that. Time is of the essence, I have to go, now!" Ichigo says frantically, and Urahara nods his head in agreement. Ichigo sighs in relief that he seems to understand the necessity in getting to Rukia quickly.

"You're not going to wait for your friends?" Urahara asks as they jump into the underground training area.

"Don't let any of them follow me…I'll save Rukia myself." Ichigo tells him in a hard voice. Urahara nods his head.

"Okay. Stand back." Urahara says as he jumps up onto a ledge. Within a minute the space to Hueco Mundo opens up, and Ichigo swiftly moves in. The moment he feels Rukia's reiatsu, he breathes a sigh of relief.

_She's alive!_

Ichigo doesn't have anybody to slow him down and he uses shunpo to move as quickly as he can, towards Rukia's reiatsu, until he's distracted by a fight going on between two very powerful hollows. The one hollow looks very similar to the Grande Fisher, and Ichigo stops in his tracks when he sees the smaller opponent, fighting quite well against the much larger hollow.

The smaller one, for some reason, reminds him of Nel Tu, though he's not exactly sure why. Ichigo was certain that his father told him that he killed off the Grande Fisher, so Ichigo doesn't understand why this hollow looks so much like that hollow. Particularly when the familiar looking lure comes out, Ichigo doesn't even think, he jumps towards the fight and lands next to the smaller Arrancar.

Ichigo's surprised to find when he lands near him that he's not nearly as tall as Ichigo had previously thought, he's somewhere in between the height of he and Rukia.

He wears a variant of the Arrancar uniform, it's white, with a muscle style white jacket that only goes to the bicep, showing off the tattoo on his right bicep with the number, one hundred eighteen, showing. He wears black socks, white sandals, and over the jacket is pinned a cape, and the edges are frayed white and black, it reminds Ichigo a bit of his own cloak when he's in bankai.

The Grande Fisher look alike, has materialized a human form onto its lure that Ichigo doesn't recognize, since it currently recognizes the Arrancar next to Ichigo, as its true opponent.

"Can you cut this person?" The hollow asks the Arrancar, and Ichigo glares as the Arrancar raises his zanpakutou. Ichigo hops back a bit to watch, ready to lend a hand to kill the hollow that is too similar to that of the one who killed his mother.

"I can cut through anything." The Arrancar responds before he slashes the Grande Fisher look alike, and Ichigo's eyes widen at his power. The Arrancar turns towards Ichigo. "Who are you?" The Arrancar asks, still holding up his zanpakutou.

"I am Kurosaki Ichigo. The hollow that killed my mother, looked identical to the one that you just killed." Ichigo tells him.

"I have heard of that name before…why are you in Hueco Mundo?" The Arrancar asks next.

"I am here to save Rukia." Ichigo tells him, and the Arrancar gives him a dubious look.

"I highly doubt that the person you're here to save is still alive." The Arrancar says, and Ichigo scoffs.

"Of course she is, I can feel her." Ichigo tells him before he turns to head away.

"Aren't you going to fight me first? You are a Shinigami, are you not?" The Arrancar asks, as he eyes Ichigo's larger than normal zanpakutou.

"What is your name?" Ichigo asks.

"I am Esteban Gobernadorro." The Arrancar announces as he puffs his chest out a bit proudly.

"Well Esteban, Aizen kidnapped Rukia, and she is very important to me. Going to save her is far more important than fighting with you." Ichigo tells him, before he turns his back again. Esteban stares after Ichigo for a second, but then he uses sonido to land in front of Ichigo. He sheathes his zanpakutou in his sheath on his right side.

"I'm coming with you." Esteban promptly says. Ichigo falls to the ground at that statement, and Esteban immediately begins to laugh. Ichigo begins to wonder how he attracts such weird Arrancar to want to follow him after barely meeting them.

"Only if you can keep up," Ichigo finally grumbles as he glares at the strange and small Arrancar.

Esteban has black hair, it's not very long, it's a shorter style. His mask is missing the jaw section, and unlike Nell, he wears it over his face.

There is a dark filled in dark green circle on his mask, that is kind of intriguing to Ichigo, it has a line leading up to the top of the mask and two parallel lines lead from the top of the mask through the eyes and stop where the mask's fangs begin. The fangs are on either side of the teeth as well. In some ways, it reminds Ichigo of his own mask.

Ichigo stands and dusts himself off a bit.

"You're going to need help anyways," Esteban tells him as he gives him a look that gives Ichigo the impression that maybe this Arrancar doesn't think as highly of him as Nell did.

"Um…thanks…I think." Ichigo says, before he starts to use shunpo.

To Ichigo's surprise, Esteban follows along at Ichigo's designated pace. This surprises Ichigo, more than he wants to admit.

Ichigo doesn't mention that the number on his bicep seems pretty high, since he already knows what it means. This Arrancar is a demoted Espada. Esteban notices Ichigo glancing at him though.

"What?" Esteban asks in the middle of their fast paced movement.

"What number were you formerly?" Ichigo asks Esteban, who sneers a bit at that question.

"I was given the number two, originally." Esteban tells him, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

_Stronger than Nell's number? Wow._

"Why are you helping me?" Ichigo asks next.

"I have business in Las Noches. I've been pissed off a long time, but I never had the nerve to go and settle things alone. I figure you're all the backup I'm going to get, since nobody else is bound to come along and want to fight there, besides other Shinigami, who would certainly want to kill me upon meeting me. You're different." Esteban says, and Ichigo sighs as he keeps moving at a fast rate of shunpo. He knows they're nearly there.

"I'm _your_ backup?" Ichigo asks dubiously, not understanding where this small Arrancar gets his confidence, but he did used to be the number two espada, so maybe he has a tendency to feel superior.

"I hope you can hold your own in a fight." Esteban says next, and Ichigo scoffs.

"I'm not the one, who was afraid to go in alone," Ichigo reminds him, and Esteban gives him a doubtful look.

"I thought maybe you were just ignorant. What makes you think you can march into Las Noches all by yourself and come out victorious?" Esteban asks him, even as he stares at Ichigo's humongous zanpakutou. He had noticed it before, but now that he's next to the guy, it just seems monstrous.

"I will save Rukia." Ichigo says in a hard voice, as he picks up his speed a bit.

"Your girlfriend?" Esteban asks. Ichigo answers without thinking.

"I wish…I mean…not yet." Ichigo says, turning bright red.

"But maybe after you save her, it will all change." Esteban says, as he and Ichigo finally end up at the huge castle that Aizen had built to reside in, while in Hueco Mundo.

"That would be nice," Ichigo mutters, even as he remembers how it didn't happen that way the last time he saved her.

Esteban watches with wide eyes as Ichigo whips Zangetsu off of his back and prepares to hack away at the wall. It doesn't take but one giant Getsuga Tenshou to rip a hole through the wall. Esteban's mouth drops a bit at that.

It's an incredibly thick wall, and to destroy it in one attack…he feels lucky that he's coming to fight here with someone who's obviously quite strong, despite his first assessment of the man.

Ichigo goes to step in and promptly trips over a piece of rubble, landing flat on his face. Esteban begins to laugh quite uncontrollably at the annoyed expression on Ichigo's face.

"Shut up." Ichigo grumbles as he gets to his feet and walks a bit more carefully through the rubble. Esteban follows and Ichigo zeroes in on Rukia's reiatsu, to feel for which direction he should go. He doesn't say anything else to Esteban, he just begins to move towards Rukia's reiatsu.

Esteban follows and stays with him as they fly through some abandoned corridors. He senses a strong reiatsu ahead, and his right hand goes to his zanpakutou at his right side.

When Ichigo enters the room with the strong reiatsu first, Esteban figures it's a good time to see his abilities. That's why he's shocked beyond belief, when Ichigo kills the Arrancar which was definitely stronger than a Gillian before its transformation, with only one Getsuga Tenshou slash attack. He doesn't slow down after that either, he keeps heading towards the reiatsu of the girl he wants to save.

The next room they come into has two large Arrancar inside. Ichigo flies at the larger one who has long silver hair, and a mask covering its face. The mask resembles a bird's beak, and his height is nearly that of Jidanbou. He's wearing a big white robe with black lining surrounding the edging of it, and Ichigo is quite surprised when he defends against his first slash attack.

Esteban had gone for the smaller Arrancar with dark blue hair, and a much smaller frame. His mask resembles that of some sort of bug, and his white Las Noches uniform is much more flamboyant than the Arrancar that Ichigo is fighting. It's short white shorts, with black lining, and a half white jacket that shows off everything below his pectoral muscles.

"You-You're Esteban Gobernadorro!" The flamboyant looking Arrancar says nervously, since he's aware of Esteban's abilities.

"And you are dead." Esteban says very quietly before he pokes his zanpakutou through the flamboyant Arrancar, and his blade sinks into the center of its chest. Esteban quickly brings his blade downward and cuts out a section of the torso so wide that the Arrancar has no chance for recovery. Esteban turns around, just in time to see Ichigo decapitate the much larger Arrancar that he had gone up against.

Ichigo is on the move again, and Esteban follows, feeling a bit grateful that the Shinigami wasn't interested in fighting with him.

"We don't have time to fight all of these opponents, I'm going to fly right past them until I get to Rukia!" Ichigo informs Esteban, who nods and decides just to keep on the Shinigami's tail.

They're flying through rooms of Las Noches that Esteban has never been in before, and they fly past several potential enemies and his companion busts a few walls as he gets closer and closer to the girl's reiatsu.

"We're almost there!" Ichigo says excitedly, since he can feel Rukia's reiatsu in the next room. Suddenly, Esteban uses sonido to step back from Ichigo since he senses the presence before Ichigo does.

"Bankai." An unfamiliar voice says, causing Ichigo to stop in his tracks. He looks down and sees Tousen below, and rings are shooting out of his zanpakutou.

"You're alive too?" Ichigo asks in aggravation as blackness seems to swallow him up.

"Suzumushi Final Style, Enma Koorogi." Tousen says, not that Ichigo can hear anything.

"What the fuck? I can't see anything…I can't hear anything…what is going on here?" Ichigo asks out loud, but he realizes he's in Tousen's bankai, and so Ichigo decides he'll have to fight bankai with bankai.

"Bankai" Ichigo says as he begins to transform. "Tensa Zangetsu." Ichigo finishes up once the transformation changes. It is a bit unnerving that he can't see his opponent, and so when Tousen slashes him in the side, Ichigo realizes he'll never see his opponent coming.

"Fuck." Ichigo grumbles as the pain starts to sear up his side. He can't afford to focus on the pain, not when Rukia's life is in danger!

Ichigo decides this just won't work and so he immediately begins to move at top speed, all around Tousen's bankai space, and he just starts unleashing Getsuga Tenshou, blindly.

Tousen is quite surprised at Ichigo's decision on how to handle his bankai. The kid is constantly switching directions, making it practically impossible to discern where he'll be next, and several strong slash attacks have flown in Tousen's direction. Then Ichigo flies to the top and center of Tousen's bankai and unleashes a series of Getsuga Tenshou slashes, intended to kill anybody who stood below him, which Tousen was.

Outside of Tousen's bankai, Esteban watches a bit nervously. For some reason, the orange haired Shinigami doesn't piss him off as much as others normally do. Of the two Shinigami fighting right now, Esteban would definitely prefer Ichigo to come out the winner.

In the room next to the fight between Tousen and Ichigo, Rukia's face is lit up in relief. She's chained to a chair, in a completely white short dress that clings to her body. Gin and Aizen are seated on either side of her with confident smiles on their faces. Her zanpakutou is leaning up to the chair behind her, out of her reach.

There are several doors that attach to the room, and Rukia can feel her heart pounding wildly in fear for Ichigo. She wonders what lies beyond the rooms surrounding her.

"Don't worry sweetheart, we'll let you look at his dead body when Tousen is finished with him." Gin says with amusement even as Rukia scowls.

"Tousen is the one who will end up dead." Rukia sputters angrily, and Gin scoffs.

"I can't wait until we take care of this kid. Because shortly after that, you're going to earn your black stripes." Gin tells her, and Rukia's face goes white at the implication that he may do something to her.

She had hardly been able to believe it when they'd thrown her in a small room alone with the white dress and had ordered her to change. She had been told that if she did not change on her own, someone would come in and dress her instead.

"Ah, be patient Gin. Let the anticipation build a bit. Let her imagine what it will be like." Aizen says in an amused voice, causing Rukia to glare at him angrily.

"You sure are a fearless little thing, aren't ya?" Gin asks Rukia with a big smile. Her glare then goes to him.

"It shouldn't take much longer for Tousen to finish up," Aizen says in a near purr.

Back in Tousen's bankai, Ichigo finally realizes that in order to kill Tousen, he's going to have to let the guy cut him, and make his move, immediately after that. Ichigo lands on the ground, and waits for the feeling of rushing air to come at his body, to ready himself for his own deadly strike.

When Ichigo feels it coming, he solidifies his reiatsu around his body to protect himself as much as possible from Tousen's oncoming attack. Ichigo's grip around Zangetsu increases and he grabs Tousen's arm with his free hand the moment the blade sinks into his belly.

Ichigo is shocked that he can suddenly see, as he grabs Tousen's hand, but that just makes his final attack much easier.

Ichigo swings his blade across Tousen's waist, cutting his body in half at the waist. His bankai dissipates as Ichigo yanks Tousen's zanpakutou from his belly.

"Ichigo!" Esteban says in amazement as the orange haired Shinigami seems to have emerged the victor. Esteban lands on the ground next to Ichigo who is catching his breath.

"Esteban…I'm not going to fight in the next room, I'm going to retrieve Rukia and leave." Ichigo says in a pained voice.

Esteban gives him a strange look, since he doesn't even think such a thing is possible, but then Ichigo dons the mask. Esteban's eyes widen as the wound in Ichigo's stomach and side wounds begin to heal with the mask on. The moment that happens, Ichigo blasts through into the next room where he senses Rukia so strongly.

He sees her instantly, chained to the chair, and he also sees Sode No Shirayuki leaning up against the chair. Ichigo flies around Aizen and Tousen so quickly that their eyes widen in shock. Ichigo takes Sode No Shirayuki, and the back of the chair with one hand and flies out of the room with Rukia and her zanpakutou now in his grasp.

"Shit!" Gin says, since he knows his shunpo isn't even nearly as fast as what they just witnessed. He had thought it was a one time fluke, on Soukyoku Hill when the kid had flown past him to guard Renji and Rukia.

"Don't let them get away!" Aizen orders loudly, and Arrancar start pouring through the doors behind him at an alarming rate.

In the next room, Ichigo has landed with Rukia and has begun to smash apart the chair, so that soon, only the chains hang from her wrists. Ichigo hands her Sode No Shirayuki, and then he gives her a hard look.

"Don't move." Ichigo orders Rukia, and he slices through the chains on her right wrist. Rukia gasps when the chain is cut clear in two, without the blade ever having touched her skin. He focuses on the chain on her left wrist and he cuts it in the same manner.

"Ichigo…" Rukia whispers, and Ichigo looks her up and down as if to be sure she's really alright.

"Are you okay Rukia? Did they do anything to you?" Ichigo asks her worriedly. Rukia looks downwards a bit.

"Made a fool out of me…but I'm not hurt." Rukia whispers, and Ichigo grabs her and crushes her to his chest.

"We're leaving." Ichigo says in a low voice, as he looks up at Esteban.

"I still have business here." Esteban says a bit angrily, as Arrancar start to come through the door. Ichigo tightens his hold on Rukia and jumps high into the air.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo shouts as he sends a slash attack towards the Arrancar that have appeared to take them on. Rukia's hand tightens on Sode No Shirayuki, but Ichigo's holding her too close for her to help him as she stays nestled tight against his chest as he holds her with one arm, and fights with the other.

Esteban's eyes widen as he sees the head of the Exequias, the one man he's been wanting to kill since he left Las Noches. Sure, there are others, but this man is the one Esteban wanted to be sure he killed with his own two hands.

Ichigo hears Esteban laughing like a maniac, and he looks up. Esteban's laugher stops suddenly as his eyes narrow angrily. Ichigo watches as Esteban charges at the head of the Exequias, and he kills the Arrancar with one stroke. He doesn't stop there though, he continually stabs the Arrancar with barely concealed glee.

Ichigo keeps sending slash attacks at the other oncoming Arrancar. Ichigo dissolves his mask when he sees Esteban finally stop.

Esteban feels like a weight has been lifted off of his shoulders, but then he senses that Aizen is walking towards the room that they're in.

"We got to get out of here now!" Esteban says in a panicked voice. There aren't a whole lot of things that scare him, but Aizen is one of those things.

Ichigo and Esteban move at a high speed out of the room, and once out, Ichigo blasts a hole in the roof of Las Noches. Esteban gawks a bit at that action, but he follows Ichigo out, and this time, he has a much harder time keeping up with Ichigo's speed. He had noticed that the man's zanpakutou appears to be smaller, but now his rate of speed is far faster.

When Ichigo suddenly stops, Esteban stops too, and looks at the two of them.

"Will you do me a favor?" Ichigo asks Esteban. Esteban's eyes widen, and he crosses his arms.

"What's the favor?" Esteban asks, and Ichigo gives him a sheepish smile.

"Can you rip open the space between Hueco Mundo and the living world, and help us get back?" Ichigo asks him, and Esteban's eyes widen. He didn't know what kind of favor Ichigo would ask for, but considering the circumstances, it seems the least he can do for the man who helped him get to where he needed to be to kill the head of the Exequias.

"That will be no problem. Follow me." Esteban says as he leads Ichigo towards the area of Hueco Mundo, used for entry to the living world. Ichigo dissipates his bankai since he can move as fast as Esteban without it.

"Rukia…where are your Shinigami robes?" Ichigo asks her as he carries her against his body, using two arms instead of one now.

Her head is against his shoulder and he has one arm around her waist, and the other around her back as he carries her so that her front is against his front. She wraps her free arm around his back and leaves her sword hand at her side with Sode No Shirayuki pointed downwards.

"I don't know. They made me change into this." Rukia says in a small voice.

"How did they capture you?" Ichigo asks her, and Rukia scowls.

"It started as a fight, but then he used the binding arts to simply knock me out. It was damned humiliating to wake up in Las Noches, at their mercy. They told me if I didn't do as they said, they'd destroy Sode No Shirayuki." Rukia mutters as her hand tightens on the hilt of her zanpakutou.

"I was forbidden from coming to rescue you, and I think you should know that as long as Aizen lives…you're exiled from Soul Society." Ichigo tells her in a low voice.

"What?" Rukia asks in shock.

"It's okay, Rukia. You have a home in the living world." Ichigo tells her in a comforting voice. "You always have a home with me." Ichigo finishes.

Rukia feels tears pouring down her face. Tears of shame that Soul Society has exiled her, and also tears of happiness that Ichigo has vowed to her that she always has a home with him fall generously down her face.

"Thank you for coming for me…for saving me." Rukia tells him as they travel further and further away from Las Noches.

"Nothing could have stopped me from coming after you," Ichigo tells her in a firm voice.

Rukia finds herself incapable of talking anymore for the moment, since she's far too overcome with emotion. They travel for several minutes at top speed after that, until Esteban comes to a stop.

"I can let you in right here." Esteban says, as he begins to rip open a space into the living world. Ichigo flips Rukia around and holds her with only one arm now. He places his other hand on the hilt of his zanpakutou, behind his head.

"Thanks, Esteban!" Ichigo yells as he flies through the space with Rukia in his arm, but because Esteban had ripped open a space, Renji was there waiting for them, since he'd stayed in the living world to see if Ichigo successfully saved Rukia.

"Rukia!" Renji yells out in relief as Ichigo flies towards him, and the ground. The space closes back up with Esteban, still in Hueco Mundo.

"Renji!" Rukia calls out, since she's had several minutes to finally calm down. Renji shoots Ichigo a very happy look.

"I can't believe you actually did it!" Renji says in shock.

"What about Aizen? Did he make his move while I was gone?" Ichigo asks nervously, remembering how Aizen did not come after him.

"No. For now, Rukia will have to stay here…though I can certainly bring her back some spare Shinigami robes," Renji says as he eyes Rukia's short white dress.

"She's wearing the right color to get married." Byakuya's voice says suddenly, and Ichigo turns around, while Renji's eyes widen.

"Captain!" Renji says in shock.

"Married?" Ichigo asks as his grip tightens around Rukia.

"You swore to take care of her for the rest of your life, did you not? I can hardly allow you to start doing so, without a marriage taking place." Byakuya says in a hard voice with narrowed eyes. Ichigo gulps as a blush spreads across his cheeks.

"Ni-sama?" Rukia asks uncertainly, as she waits for Ichigo to set her down. Ichigo seems to be in too much shock to do anything other than keep holding her in his arms.

"Rukia, I wouldn't insist if I didn't think it was best. I don't know how long it will take to kill Aizen, but if you love him as much as he loves you, then a marriage shouldn't be a problem." Byakuya says in a much kinder voice to his sister.

"I'm not objecting…" Rukia mumbles, and Ichigo feels his knees getting weak.

"I didn't object either." Ichigo grumbles, and Byakuya's face looks satisfied at those words.

"Then we should go. The ceremony is already prepared, all that's left to complete it, is the two of you." Byakuya says as he leads the way.

"Ichigo…can I ride on your back?" Rukia asks him, before he can follow after her brother. Ichigo sets her down and she leaps onto his back, still holding Sode No Shirayuki with one hand.

"Are you really okay with marrying me?" Ichigo asks her in a nervous voice as he follows after Byakuya,

"I'm more than okay with it, Ichigo." Rukia says as she leans forward and presses a kiss against his ear.

Ichigo finds himself smiling as he grips her legs with his hands.

"I'll always take care of you," Ichigo promises her, and Rukia grins.

"You think I'd let you do anything different?" Rukia asks him in a bit of a sassy tone. Ichigo smiles broadly.

"Of course not." Ichigo replies, as he can't stop smiling.

_I came after you Rukia, and I will always look out for you._


	3. As Requested: Sex Talk

**A/N- Imagine that Rukia has never actually been given the talk about the birds and the bees. Imagine that all she has are the reading materials in the living world. Imagine that she didn't know when she met Renji, and he protected her from hearing about it until she entered the Kuchiki clan, and from there she didn't associate with many commoners…and Byakuya never really paid much attention to her so she never learned about it from him either. This story is done by request, to have Rukia force Ichigo to be the one to give her "the talk."**

**It's dedicated to the person who requested it, enjoy!**

_Sex Talk_

"I just need to pick up a few things, and then we'll go home. Don't worry, Ichigo, we won't stay long." Rukia tells him, as they enter Urahara's Shop. Strangely, none of the usual workers are around, which has never been the case before.

"Hello? Urahara-san?" Ichigo calls out, but there is no answer.

"Maybe he's in the training area," Rukia says, and Ichigo grins.

"That has to be it!" Ichigo says, as he leads her towards the entrance to the underground training area. He opens the trapdoor, and they peer down into the chamber.

"Yeah, Kisuke! Meow!" Yoruichi's voice travels up.

"Moan for me pussycat!" Urahara says, in an excited voice.

Rukia gets a very confused look on her face at what she's seeing, and Ichigo turns bright red and nearly closes the trapdoor on her head.

"What are you doing?" Rukia asks, as she barely moves out of the way in time. Ichigo grabs her wrist.

"We're leaving. You can come get whatever you need, tomorrow." Ichigo says, in a low voice that cracks a few times as he speaks.

"But I need-" Rukia starts to say, but Ichigo just drags her out of the shop and up the sidewalk.

"Tomorrow." Ichigo tells her again, and Rukia's mind goes back to what she just saw. Yoruichi and Urahara had been naked, and he had been right up against her back.

Yoruichi had a very happy expression on her face, as did Urahara. Rukia scratches her chin as the scene replays in her head. She hadn't seen their naked bodies very clearly since they had been below, but maybe that's what has Ichigo all embarrassed.

"Ichigo…is something wrong?" Rukia asks as she looks up at him. Ichigo just gives her a strange stare. He can't believe that she is not way more embarrassed that they just witnessed Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san having sex.

"Shut up, we're going home." Ichigo tells her in a low voice. Rukia gives him an extremely puzzled glance, and she considers the situation until they get home.

Rukia realizes that Ichigo is keeping something very important from her, and she doesn't like that he has information that he's not willing to share with her. She gets angrier and angrier until they're in his bedroom alone, where Ichigo lays down in bed and throws his pillow over his face. Rukia glares at him.

"Ichigo! I have a question for you!" Rukia says in a loud voice as she grabs Kon up by his foot and whacks Ichigo in the stomach with him.

"Nee-san! What are you doing! Stop it!" Kon screams as Rukia beats Ichigo in the stomach until he finally sits up.

"What, Rukia?" Ichigo nearly shouts at her. Rukia throws Kon at him.

"What were Urahara and Yoruichi-san doing?" Rukia asks him with big wide eyes, causing Ichigo to turn his head away from her, and promptly blush. He tosses Kon to the floor.

"Why are you asking me?" Ichigo says in a strained voice. Rukia glares at the back of his head.

"I'm asking you, because I have a feeling that you know exactly what was going on. If you don't tell me, I'm going to bind you with my kidou and draw on you until you spill the beans!" Rukia threatens him with a shake of her fist.

"Don't joke with me Rukia. It's not funny." Ichigo says as he turns his head enough to shoot her an angry glare.

"Way of Binding-" Rukia starts to say, causing Ichigo to hop out of his bed at light speed, and hold his hands up in surrender.

"You're serious? You really don't know?" Ichigo asks her with wide eyes, causing Rukia to scowl angrily at him.

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Rukia asks as she crosses her arms angrily. Ichigo gapes at her for a moment as his face twitches a bit. He looks down at Kon and back up at Rukia.

"They were…um…having sex." Ichigo says as he chokes on his words a bit. Kon jumps up happily.

"Really?! They were having sex?!" Kon asks with excitement in his voice. Rukia steps on Kon's head muffling his voice.

"Ichigo…what exactly is sex?" Rukia asks with her eyebrows furrowed, causing Ichigo to practically turn purple.

"I can show you Nee-san!" Kon's muffled voice says into the floor. Rukia shoves her foot a bit harder into the back of his head.

"Um…why are you asking me this? Aren't you supposed to be ten times as old as me? Why in the hell don't you already know?" Ichigo asks as he looks fairly horrified. He watches as Rukia's foot digs harder into Kon's head.

"It's not as though I've never heard the word…but nobody has ever explained it to me! I know sex has something to do with reproducing, but that's all I've ever been able to gather through all of my years of over listening and overhearing. Even though you say they were having sex, I really don't know what you mean, or what sex even is." Rukia says in a harsh voice.

"Unreal." Ichigo whispers as he looks at Rukia's big blue eyes.

"Spill it!" Rukia says as she takes a couple of steps closer. Ichigo covers his face with his hands. Kon stands up and creeps behind Rukia. She seems to be aware of him though and she kicks him without even looking, into the closet door.

"Why me?" Ichigo says in a near whine, and Rukia growls in frustration.

"I'll explain it Nee-san!" Kon says as he jumps up and down. Rukia ignores Kon.

"I can always go ask your father if you don't want to tell me…or Keigo. He always seems eager to talk to me." Rukia says as she turns on her heel.

Ichigo turns white at the idea of her talking to either one of them about it. Knowing his father he'd start that explanation off with something like…

_Well when you and Ichigo have sex, you'll take off all of your clothes and…_

Ichigo doesn't even want to consider where his father might take such an explanation. He's dashes in front of Rukia before she can exit his room, and he starts to sweat.

"I guess I have no choice…I have to explain it to you." Ichigo says in a near whisper.

Rukia grins and turns around to go and sit on Ichigo's bed, which just makes him blush harder. He grabs Kon up and tosses him outside of the bedroom and closes the door before he turns around again to look at Rukia. He only takes two steps away from the door, and closer to her.

"I'm waiting." Rukia says, impatiently. Ichigo struggles to gain some composure, but then he gives Rukia a strange look.

"Um…maybe you shouldn't sit on my bed for this conversation. You should sit in the chair." Ichigo says as he points at his desk chair. Rukia frowns at him.

"Quit stalling and get to talking!" Rukia says with a note of threat in her voice. Ichigo sighs and looks away from her.

"Fine. Sex is when a man's penis penetrates a woman's…vagina…and then they um…repeatedly…thrust until the man…um…orgasms inside of her." Ichigo says as his face turns a dark shade of purple.

Rukia looks up at him in the same type of way a student looks at a teacher as he gives his explanation, and he's surprised that she hasn't started blushing yet.

"A man's penis?" Rukia asks inquisitively, and Ichigo groans. Of course part of him is happy that she has no idea what that is, but the other part of him really wishes she hadn't just asked that question.

"Yes." Ichigo mumbles as he points at his own groin. That's when it seems to sink into her mind. Ichigo sees the information finally click in her mind and she begins to turn pink.

"Oh…" Rukia says as her gaze settles on his midsection. Ichigo starts to feel very exposed by her staring and he slowly starts backing out of his room.

"So now, you know." Ichigo says before he turns and runs out. He goes downstairs and sits on the couch to bury his face in his hands. He cannot believe that he of all people had to give Rukia the sex talk.

Up in Ichigo's bedroom, Rukia is finally completely red, since she made Ichigo tell her exactly what sex is. She's kind of glad he ran away, because she hadn't been able to stop staring at his crotch after he'd explained the last part. She looks towards her own genital area and she flops back on the bed.

"I wonder how many girls are given the talk by the same man who will end up giving the demonstration?" Rukia mutters as she can't stop blushing.

_Ichigo and I naked and against each other…I need a cold shower._


	4. As Requested: Interrupted

**A/N-This is done by request, I hope you all enjoy it, and it is dedicated to the one that requested it!**

_Interrupted_

"You know I'm really happy that you've been given special permission to stay here with me," Ichigo tells Rukia, as they sit on his bed together.

"It's only because you were so helpful in the fight against Aizen." Rukia tells Ichigo with a smile.

She's happy too. They started dating immediately after all of the pandemonium died down over Aizen, and they've been together for four months. They kill hollows together, they go to school together, they live together, and they're really together. It's like the dream she never thought she'd ever get to experience has finally come true.

"Rukia…" Ichigo says as he pulls her hard into his side. Rukia smiles at that action and she lays her head on his shoulder.

"It's all thanks to you that everything has turned out the way that it did." Rukia says softly as Ichigo's hold around her tightens.

"You're wrong. Because without you, there'd be no me." Ichigo tells her in a low and husky voice.

It's amazing to Rukia. Since they actually started dating, Ichigo has made it a regular point to tell her why she's so important to him, and why she means so much to him. He constantly reminds her that his strength all came from her, and Rukia wonders where this side of him was at, before they started dating. She wonders if he learned to be this way from watching his parents interact before his mother died, but she's never asked him that question, nor would she ever utter that out loud.

"I'm not the only one who has saved your life." Rukia tells him softly, wanting him to see his own magnificence.

"You've saved my life more times than anyone else I know has." Ichigo tells her, feeling truly grateful that the woman who means the world to him, actually loves him back.

He's been in a totally different state of mind since they finally admitted their feelings. He no longer feels any need to hold back, and he wants her to know how special she is to him. She always has been, and he spent way too long avoiding talking about it, and she didn't ever deserve that.

When Ichigo thinks of the fact that his father showed his mother constant love until the day they were separated by her death, he knows he wants to cherish Rukia for what time they have left together, no matter how long or short that time may be.

"I'll always watch your back," Rukia tells him in a no nonsense voice, the one that always makes his heart beat a little bit faster. Screw that fake schoolgirl voice, her normal confident voice is sexier than hell to him.

"When you talk like that, I just want to rip off your dress." Ichigo tells her in a low voice. Rukia blushes at those words, but she doesn't have such an extensive wardrobe, that she's actually okay with him doing such a thing.

"We can't! Your family could come home at any moment now!" Rukia says with a bit of a giggle at the way he's tilting her head up towards him so that he can kiss her. After he kisses her, he sighs.

"You're right, they could get home anytime now." Ichigo says in obvious disappointment until a great idea pops in his head.

He scoots away from her and sits on the edge of the bed and begins to unbutton his pants. Rukia watches in fascination as he yanks down his pants and boxers down to his ankles and then laughs as he grabs a hold of her ankles. Rukia allows him to pull her towards him, and then he reaches up her dress and relieves her of her panties.

"What do you have in mind?" Rukia asks as she looks at the gleam in his eyes.

"A quickie." Ichigo says with a grin. "You don't even have to take off your dress." Ichigo tells her in a low voice as he leans over and grabs a hold of her tiny waist and he easily lifts her over to him and stands her in front of him.

Rukia gives him an excited smile. After all of the nice things he's been saying to her, she's feeling very agreeable. She smiles as she looks down at the proof that he's completely turned on, even without her clothes being on, and she straddles him.

They begin to kiss for a minute and then Rukia moves herself so that she can make love to him. Since they intend on it being a quickie, Ichigo feels no reason to hold off, and so the moment she slides him inside of her, he helps her move to make it easier.

"Rukia…" Ichigo groans as they get going into a steady pace.

Rukia is about to respond, but instead, Ichigo's light comes popping off the ceiling and comes crashing to the floor behind Rukia. They both flinch at that, and they look up in horror as Renji, Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Rangiku-san all poke their head through the ceiling.

"Ah!" Ichigo shouts as he realizes if Rukia gets off of him, he'll be completely exposed to the group who are all smiling down at them.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Matsumoto says, as she smiles at them, and then she notices Ichigo's pants and boxers around his ankles. Renji's mouth is gaped open and he's the first to pull his head out of the bedroom.

"Uh…" Ichigo says as he turns completely red.

"It looks like we came at a bad time," Matsumoto says as she gives them a knowing smile with a nod to go along with it.

"Such a beautiful act." Yumichika says with a dreamy sigh.

"Stop coming in through my ceiling!" Ichigo shouts in frustration as he holds Rukia by her arms very tightly on top of him. She and her dress are the only things keeping his privates from being spotted by everyone.

"It's an emergency." Toushirou's voice comes from the windowsill, and Ichigo and Rukia's eyes both widen in horror at the sound of his voice.

"Stop fucking with my light, and stop popping in my bedroom unannounced!" Ichigo shouts angrily, since he is quite pissed now.

"Didn't Renji tell you that you shouldn't do that?" Ikkaku asks Toushirou in a fairly calm voice. Toushirou scowls.

"Shut up!" He snaps up towards the ceiling.

"We can always replace the bulb." Rangiku-san says to Ichigo, with a grin as her hand goes to Ikkaku's head. Ikkaku glares at her for that comment. She did this the last time they came here, too. Ichigo turns red in anger more than embarrassment now.

"Get out! Go to…the school roof. Rukia and I will meet you there!" Ichigo growls at them all.

"Come on, this isn't my scene." Ikkaku says as he feels kind of bad for interrupting Ichigo.

"Don't take too long!" Rangiku-san says with a giggle. Ichigo and Rukia sigh in mortification. Neither of them even want to continue, but Ichigo is glad he'll be able to pull up his pants without an audience. They watch for everyone to disappear before Rukia jumps off of Ichigo and gives him a look of embarrassment.

"I can't believe they all just saw us." Rukia says with a moan, even though she's glad that her dress was on for the incident. Thank goodness Ichigo hadn't ripped it off of her.

"This had better be good…this is some fucking bullshit." Ichigo grumbles as he pulls his pants up and feels gypped out of his quickie with Rukia.

_Later…_

"Well…I guess they had good reason to come." Rukia says reluctantly, and Ichigo nods.

Even though Aizen died…apparently he had created a lot of strong Arrancar that never showed up for the war. The numbers of strong hollow above Gillian levels have shot up far higher than they ever have in the long history of Soul Society.

Ichigo and Rukia have been chosen along with the Shinigami who showed up, to go on a mission to exterminate the strong hollows by using bait, well outside of Karakura Town to try and draw them out.

"I'm sorry we got interrupted." Ichigo tells her, even as he turns red from the memory.

"It's okay…after all, you'll be making it up to me tonight." Rukia tells him with a wink. Ichigo smiles at her.

"I'll be happy to." He tells her and he gives her a look of love as he makes a silent vow in his head.

_And this time, we won't get interrupted!_


	5. As Requested: Too Short, Too Sweet

**A/N- This is done by request. It's dedicated to the person that requested it. The requester wanted me to somehow include a roller coaster in a story between Ichigo & Rukia. Please enjoy!**

_Too Short, Too Sweet_

When Ichigo's father told them he was taking them all to an amusement park, Rukia had waited until she was alone with Ichigo to ask him about them. He had pulled up a site on the internet to show her what attractions are at amusement parks, and then he had taken a good long look at her and informed her that if she wanted to have fun while she was there, that she'd need to get some shoes with heels, since he was sure she was too short to get on some of the rides.

Rukia hadn't been happy with his observation, but when he had taken her shopping for shoes, she had been happy with the results. He could tell when she had them on, that she enjoyed the feeling of being taller than she usually was. She had gotten sandals where the heel covered the entire length of the foot, and they were high enough that she shouldn't be turned down for any of the good rides.

She actually only stumbled a couple of times before completely mastering the sandals, or as she called it, she cleared the sandals. It reminded him of his training with Urahara when he'd had to clear his lessons to get his Shinigami powers back.

During the long ride to the amusement park, Ichigo sat up front with his father, and the girls all sat in the back. Rukia is borrowing Isshin's old portable CD player, and Ichigo has an MP3 Player to drown out the sounds of Isshin and Yuzu singing. Karin grumbles that she forgot her own MP3 player, and she's forced to listen to the musical talents of her father and sister.

Rukia had noticed Karin's predicament, and halfway through the ride, she took pity on her and allowed her to take the portable CD player that Issin had lent her. Then Rukia enjoyed learning the songs being sung, and was soon singing along with Isshin and Yuzu.

Ichigo had glanced back to see her happily singing and he had rolled his eyes, even as he had quickly turned down the volume to be able to hear what she sounded like when she sung.

Ichigo is surprised that she has a very nice voice. He wasn't necessarily expecting her to suck, but he didn't expect her voice to be beautiful, either. Isshin gives Ichigo a sideways glance like he knows that the volume is down, and Ichigo quickly looks out the window and blushes, as he sneaks the volume back up.

After the song is completed, Isshin gives off a big laugh.

"Rukia-chan, that was great! You really are a perfect fit for the family. My son is an idiot, so keep being patient until he realizes that too." Isshin tells her, and Yuzu smiles, causing Rukia to turn bright red.

"Um…sure." Rukia says, since she can't think of anything else to say. Isshin breaks out into song again, and for that, Rukia is very grateful.

When they get to the amusement park, Isshin gives Rukia a generous amount of money and Ichigo's eyes widen at that.

"You two be sure to meet us at ten o'clock at this very spot." Isshin orders Rukia and Ichigo who nod and Rukia's eyes widen as she stares around the amusement park. Ichigo starts to lead her towards the roller coasters, but he quickly realizes he can't take his eyes off of her for even a second, because she's twenty meters back staring wide eyed at some cotton candy.

"Yo, Rukia…" Ichigo starts to call her away, but her eyes are all lit up as she looks at it, and Ichigo walks slowly towards her.

"Ichigo, what is this?" Rukia asks excitedly, as she sees little kids running around and eating it.

"It's cotton candy." Ichigo says and Rukia's eyes widen.

"I have to try it." Rukia insists, and Ichigo sighs.

"Fine." Ichigo tells her, since he's sure they'll have to wait in line for the roller coaster, anyways.

"Do you want some too?" Rukia asks him, and Ichigo shakes his head no.

Rukia quickly pays for her share, and then they start on their way again…until Rukia spots some caramel apples. Of course she has to try that too, and even though she sees other treats that catch her eyes, her hands are currently full at the moment, and Ichigo is able to successfully get her to the biggest roller coaster that the amusement park has to offer. He had bought tickets for the rides while she was choosing her apple.

When Rukia is allowed past the height stick, Ichigo breathes an audible sigh of relief, that he won't be stopped from going on his favorite rides due to her extreme shortness.

Rukia doesn't even pay attention to the ride, since she's so focused on her treats, and Ichigo finds that a bit odd. Several people in line, smile at her enthusiasm as she exclaims how good the cotton candy and caramel apple are.

When they're finally in the ride's pavilion, Rukia starts to notice the ride, although she's not nearly as excited as Ichigo imagined she might be, after seeing all of her excitement over the sweets that she's already tried.

Ichigo guides her to wait for the back car, since the feeling is the most intense back there, and when it's their turn, Ichigo ends up having to buckle her in, which makes him turn a bit pink, and then he pulls the safety bar down.

Rukia sits and glances at Ichigo.

"This is the best part of an amusement park." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia gives him a doubtful look. She's not sure anything can match the large variety of sweets located in between all of the rides. The ride starts to move and Rukia looks around in confusion when people start sticking their hands in the air.

"Ichigo…what are they doing?" Rukia asks, but as she does, she looks at him, and sees his arms up too.

"Rukia, you're supposed to put your arms up. It shows you're not afraid of the drop." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia obediently raises her arms.

She flinches in her seat as the ride start to go down, and Ichigo lets out a loud yell of appreciation, as does everyone else on the ride. Rukia wonders what the big deal is. She's used to the feeling of falling from heights higher than the roller coaster, and she's done it without any bars or seatbelts protecting her. Still, Rukia smiles as the ride continues, and she looks at Ichigo in a bit of surprise when he grins hugely at her.

"Ichigo?" Rukia asks as they wait for the ride to enter the pavilion.

"That was great!" Ichigo says excitedly, and Rukia just nods her head at him.

They both enjoy the day, since Rukia buys every treat she can find, in between being dragged onto every thrill ride the park has to offer. Ichigo gives Rukia a look of amazement, since she has managed to finish cotton candy, a caramel apple, a funnel cake, an elephant's ear, fudge, ice cream, and salt water taffy, all without getting the least bit sick.

When they're offered the opportunity to get their pictures taken together, Rukia jumps up and down, and Ichigo rolls his eyes as he nods his head in agreement. When Rukia is handed the picture, a heart shaped frame is built into the picture itself, and Ichigo turns purple when Rukia shows him that.

"Who told you to use that background?" Ichigo growls at the employee. The young man hadn't spoken and his finger shook terribly as he pointed at Rukia. Ichigo turned on his heel, and Rukia laughed as she followed along.

"Don't get so upset." Rukia says as she catches up to him, and Ichigo shoves his hands in his pockets.

"I'm not upset…I was just embarrassed." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia grins.

"It could be worse. You could have a picture with this background with a girl other than me." Rukia tells him, as she runs towards a cookie vendor that she just spotted as they were talking.

Ichigo stares after her at that remark. No way would he allow a picture to stay intact if it had that background with some other girl. He'd destroy it.

Ichigo catches up to her as she takes a giant chocolate chip cookie, and her smile is the same as it's been all day as she buys every sweet thing she can get her paws on. Of course after taking the picture, she only has one free hand, which Ichigo believes is helpful, because the amusement park has way more candy and sweets than he'd ever even realized before coming to the amusement park with her.

As they're walking towards his father and sisters at the meeting place, Ichigo grins as he glances to his side, at his companion.

"I had fun with you today." Ichigo tells her, and then he quickly looks off to his other side.

"I had fun with you too, Ichigo. I can't wait to come back here again!" Rukia says as she licks her lips.

Ichigo smiles as they meet his father and then head for the car. On the way home, all three girls end up snoozing in the back seat, and as Ichigo listens to his MP3 player, he glances back at Rukia, and smiles.

_I guess it makes sense that she acted that way. It was nice to see her have fun. Sweets for the sweet._


	6. As Requested: First Time

**A/N-I had several requests to do a follow up chapter on Sex Talk, chapter 3, to include the demonstration this time. I had a feeling that would happen, but I gladly oblige you all. It's dedicated to all of you who asked for it, I hope you all enjoy it! **

**Warning: Lemon!**

_First Time_

Ichigo has been avoiding Rukia as much as possible since their embarrassing sex talk, particularly since she has been looking at him with new interest in her eyes. It's very obvious, and it puts him on edge.

This feeling both excites and terrifies him, since he hadn't really ever imagined that she'd so quickly take to the idea of doing it, and want to try it out with him. For Ichigo, sex is a very intimate act, and he doesn't want her to use him like some sort of educational experiment. He wants her to want to do it with him for a deeper reason than sheer curiosity.

_But I want her._

Ichigo scowls at the conflicting thoughts that have entered his brain, ever since he realized Rukia was being obvious, about being sexually attracted to him.

He tries to get his thoughts in order. He has always imagined that he'd only be with one woman. He never wanted to be the kind of guy that uses a woman and then leaves. He knows he wouldn't want anyone to do that to one of his sisters, and his mother was the one who taught him to have respect for the opposite sex. What if Rukia leaves him though?

He wants to honor his mother's memory, and one way of doing this is to not ever treat a woman like a sexual object.

That is probably part of the reason he is worried about what will happen with Rukia. So far, he's been successful in escaping her before she can get the courage to ask him for a demonstration on sex, but he knows that can't last for too much longer. Not with her personality.

Ichigo slowly walks up the stairs. He knows that she's in his room, and he thinks it's probably time to explain to her, that he left a few things out of their sex talk. Ichigo pushes open the door, and finds Rukia in her school uniform, sitting on his bed almost expectantly.

_Did she sense me coming towards the bedroom?_

"Rukia." Ichigo says in a tight voice. Rukia frowns at that. He sounds totally tense.

"Yo, Ichigo. What's wrong?" Rukia asks him as she studies his face. Ichigo sighs, and then he watches as her gaze moves down to his crotch.

"_That_ is what's wrong!" Ichigo tells her in a frustrated voice, and Rukia's eyes snap back up to his face.

"What in the hell are you talking about?" Rukia asks him in confusion. Ichigo sighs again, and then he goes and sits next to her on the bed, despite his gut telling him it was a bad idea.

"I think I might have left something out of our little sex talk." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia jumps up and runs over to the closet.

"Hold that thought." Rukia tells Ichigo, who gives her a completely befuddled look until he realizes she's got Kon in her hands.

"Nee-san…you're not still mad at me because I offered to have sex with you the next time I'm in Ichigo's body, are you?" Kon asks nervously, as he squirms. Rukia scoffs, before she drop kicks Kon out the window.

"Please, go ahead." Rukia tells Ichigo once she reclaims her seat on the bed.

"I don't think of sex as just…something to do. To me, it's a deep and meaningful act. You're not supposed to do it with just anyone." Ichigo tells her in a strained voice.

"Ichigo…have you had sex before?" Rukia asks suddenly, since the thought hadn't even occurred to her before. Ichigo glares at her after that question.

"Didn't you just hear what I said?" Ichigo asks her in a near shout. Rukia glares back at him.

"I heard you, that doesn't answer my question though!" Rukia shoots back, and Ichigo shakes his head in frustration.

"Damn it Rukia…don't you think you would have noticed if I had that kind of deep and meaningful relationship with someone?" Ichigo asks her, as he crosses his arms.

"Just answer me with a simple yes or no." Rukia says, since she still isn't sure whether or not he has done it or not.

"It's not exactly cool for a guy to admit he's a virgin." Ichigo mumbles at her with pink cheeks.

"Who says? Probably some other guy." Rukia asks, and then answers her own question. Rukia knows what a virgin is. It's someone who has never had sex.

"Whatever." Ichigo grumbles at her, and Rukia smiles at him.

"Is that your roundabout way of telling me that you've never had sex before?" Rukia asks him with curiosity.

"For crying out loud…I've never had sex before." Ichigo says as he turns his face away from her.

"I want to have sex with you." Rukia tells him bluntly, and Ichigo turns completely red. He slowly turns to look at her, but he can't stop himself from asking her a very important question.

"If I say no…would you find someone else to do it with?" Ichigo asks her in a soft voice. Rukia stares at him in confusion. She can't even consider the idea of doing it with someone else. She frowns at him.

"Are you planning on saying no?" Rukia asks him back. Ichigo sighs.

"I answered your question about being a virgin…now you have to answer my question." Ichigo tells her stubbornly. Rukia keeps frowning at him at the mere thought that he might even consider telling her no.

"I can't even imagine the idea of taking off my clothes in front of another man, let alone doing that." Rukia finally admits, and Ichigo can't help but to grin at that.

"I think you should know…I made a decision to honor my mother's memory by only being with one woman. I can't make love to you, unless I know you plan on being with me, and only me." Ichigo tells her quietly. Rukia's eyes widen.

_Make love?_

"Ichigo…is making love somehow different from sex?" Rukia asks in confusion. Ichigo smiles at her.

"Yeah. Even though the physical act may be the same, the difference lies in the emotions behind the act." Ichigo tells her quietly, and Rukia's eyes soften at that romantic remark.

"You're such a softie." Rukia grins as she says this, and Ichigo smiles at her.

"Don't tell anyone…it's my biggest secret." Ichigo admits. Rukia decides to tease him.

"I thought your biggest secret was that you were a virgin," Rukia says with a grin.

"That won't be true anymore after tonight," Ichigo tells her quietly.

"So you already knew the answer?" Rukia says with a sparkle in her eyes. Ichigo realizes she never did answer him about feeling the same way. He narrows his eyes at her.

"I think so…but I want to hear it from you first." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia grins at him. He'd been ready to make love to her without hearing her answer.

"I agree with you. You're the only one I want to be with." Rukia tells him quietly.

Ichigo responds by kissing her. Rukia's eyes widen in surprise, since she hadn't really expected it. It's a bit awkward, at first, but Rukia immediately puts her arms around him, and he does the same with her, and draws her closer. Suddenly the kiss feels far more comfortable.

When he deepens the kiss, he feels her lips part a little bit, and he takes the opportunity to dip his tongue in her mouth. Rukia's hands move to his cheeks and then she moves her hands around his hair, then his neck, and then his shoulders.

Rukia can hardly believe all of the sensations that just kissing him brings on. She doesn't want the kissing to stop, and so she starts to kiss him back fervently.

They both feel their bodies heating up just from kissing passionately. Neither one of them are even ready for the beginning to be over with so quickly, and Ichigo pulls away to adjust her so that she's laying on the bed. He immediately leans back down to kiss her, and Rukia kisses him back with equal passion when his lips meet back up with her own.

Ichigo slowly starts to let one hand slowly move around her shoulders and neck. He marvels at how nice it feels to touch her like this. Even though he's not experienced, and has never made love before, he wants her to experience as much pleasure as possible.

His hand drops down to her left breast and he slowly starts to massage her as they kiss. Rukia starts to make little noises as they kiss, and the noises affect Ichigo on a primal level. He just keeps on kissing her though, and then he starts to unbutton her blouse.

Rukia hears Ichigo's affected moan when his hand finally starts touching her where her shirt had previously covered. He tugs at her bra and gets quite frustrated before he bites it in center of the breasts, and completely ruins the bra as he gets it away from her skin.

Rukia doesn't care though, because it feels like her body is pulsating from the heat and passion that he brings with his kisses and his touch.

Rukia mimics him, and starts to tug up his tee-shirt, since unlike her, he had changed after school. Rukia lets out a breathless sigh when she feels Ichigo's muscular stomach beneath her palms.

_Sexy Ichigo…_

Ichigo notices when Rukia's breathing gets harder and more excited, and she flinches when he rolls to her side and his hand slips up her skirt. She lets out a rush of air when he starts to rub her over her underwear.

"I'd die for you…" Ichigo whispers against her ear, in between kisses, and Rukia sighs at that.

"I love you too," Rukia tells him after he kisses her again, and Ichigo's face gets the most sweet look that she's ever seen it get since she's known him.

"I want you to feel good." Ichigo tells her in a low voice, and Rukia blushes.

"I do…I feel better than good." Rukia tells him and Ichigo leans back down to kiss her. Rukia feels him pushing the material of her underwear to the side and suddenly he's touching her without any fabric in his way, and she lets out sound that sounds half like a sigh, and half like a squeal.

"I like it when you do that," Ichigo tells her and he kisses her again as his fingers start to make her legs start to shake from the intense rush of feelings overtaking her entire body.

"Ichigo…" Rukia murmurs, with a glazed over look in her eyes. Ichigo feels himself coming undone. He stays on her side as he unbuttons and unzips his pants before he starts to work them down, even as he keeps pressing hot and passionate kisses against her lips.

Rukia can hardly keep up with everything happen, due to the way her body reacted from his fingers being in her most intimate place. She feels him relieve her of her underwear, but he doesn't take off her skirt. He leans down and kisses her left nipple which immediately hardens as his tongue flicks at it. Rukia starts to make little noises again, and Ichigo finds himself on top of her, without even consciously doing so.

"I want you…" Ichigo tells her in an aching voice, and Rukia gives him a look of love when he says it.

"I want you too." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo can't help but to moan loudly at the first touch of his fun parts against hers. Ichigo gives her a look of concern.

"This might hurt a little bit…but only this once." Ichigo whispers to her, and Rukia nods, even though she doesn't believe him until he pushes inside of her.

Rukia nearly shrieks at the sudden streak of pain that shoots straight through to her feet, and Ichigo looks like he feels totally guilty. He stays still until she stops taking deep breaths.

"The throbbing is starting to go away," Rukia tells him in a tiny voice, after several moments.

"I'm sorry…I really do love you, Rukia." Ichigo tells her fervently, and Rukia puts her arms around him.

"I know you do." Rukia tells him with a small smile. Ichigo slowly starts to move, to see if she protests it at all, but she doesn't, instead, she lets out a little sigh.

Rukia can hardly believe that a minute ago, she felt such a huge flash of pain in her body, because she feels really good now, as she experiences the ultimate pinnacle of closeness with him.

Ichigo grits his teeth and concentrates on not ruining things by finishing prematurely, but when Rukia starts to let out little moans with each push he makes, he can't stop it anymore. He grabs Rukia's hand and squeezes it, when he feels it coming on, and she squeezes his hand back.

"Rukia…" Ichigo lets out a long moan after he says her name, and Rukia watches his face as he experiences the most pleasure he's ever experienced in his life.

He's quite positive that it's a bad idea to let her know that she'll have him wrapped around her finger for the rest of his life…too bad for him, she can see it written all over his face. Ichigo leans down to kiss her again, and Rukia responds lovingly, and squeezes his hand again.

"I think I found a new hobby," Rukia tells him with a smile, and Ichigo smiles warmly at her.

"Thank you…for everything." Ichigo tells her wholeheartedly. This is the girl who is solely responsible for him being alive, and he's never felt more alive than he has tonight.

"You don't have to thank me, you just have to love me." Rukia informs him, and Ichigo lets out a shaky sigh as he pulls out of her and kisses her again.

"You know I do…and I'll never stop." Ichigo tells her firmly.

Rukia stares up at his handsome face, and she has a realization.

_My last time making love, just like my first time, and every time in between will only be with you. _

**A/N-I am working on the request to do a sequel to chapter 2, but it requires a bit more thought. I should have it up in the next day or two.**


	7. What Is She

_**A/N- Please enjoy one of my own, since I wrote it away from my computer, I'll likely have the request to the sequel for chapter 2 up tomorrow, hopefully. Please enjoy!**_

_What Is She _

When Inoue Orihime was reunited with Tatsuki, tears of relief sprung to Tatsuki's eyes. She had been so afraid that she might never see her best friend again, since she had felt so damned unreachable.

Tatsuki also realizes, that Ichigo is the one who brought her best friend back, and she has been waiting for a chance to catch Ichigo alone, to confront him about the truth.

The problem is, he's constantly with Kuchiki-san. Tatsuki knows he didn't go with Kuchiki-san to save her best friend, because she had watched him leave with Sado and Ishida. Tatsuki just doesn't understand the situation at all.

She overheard from Chizuru who had been crying before Ichigo disappeared for a month, right before Inoue's disappearance, that he had confronted Shinji Hirako for hitting on Hime.

Tatsuki hadn't bothered to tell Chizuru that she had witnessed the said confrontation and that Ichigo hadn't seemed all that concerned about Hirako hitting on Orihime. They had definitely been arguing about something else.

Tatsuki has noticed that while Ichigo seems to be a bit kinder to her best friend, he still doesn't pay her particular attention. He's consistently observant of Kuchiki-san, and almost always in her presence.

Inoue had only confided in Tatsuki so far as to tell her that Kurosaki-kun did indeed come to rescue her, but that it was by no means romantic. Inoue also left out the parts that everyone else played, suspecting that it wasn't her place to give up everyone's secrets, even if it was Tatsuki.

Tatsuki, however, had told Inoue that she watched Ichigo leave with Sado and Ishida. Inoue had smiled softly, and had nodded her head in agreement, but she had refused to elaborate any further.

All of this has left Tatsuki with a sense of frustration and confusion. She has never seen Ichigo act like he does around Kuchiki-san, but she honestly can't tell how far their relationship extends. He doesn't treat Kuchiki-san in the same way that he's always treated herself, so part of her thinks that there is something going on between the two of them.

Tatsuki sighs, and is glad the school day is over. She heads towards her cubby, where her outside shoes are kept during the school day.

She has noticed how they have taken to calling each other by their given names, rather than their family names. She has also seen them walking together towards school, and then purposely split up, which is suspicious in itself.

If Orihime hadn't been with her when she saw them split up, it could have been the perfect opportunity to confront him. It's like they're trying to keep something secret, and Tatsuki isn't sure how much longer she can just keep wondering about it, without confronting Ichigo or even confront the couple in question together, since it's hard to find a moment when they're apart.

"Shut up!" A female voice says, and at first, Tatsuki ignores it. She's still trying to figure out what in the hell is going on between Ichigo and Kuchiki-san.

Tatsuki goes to put away her indoor shoes, when she hears a familiar voice arguing around the corner. She would recognize Ichigo's voice, anywhere. She peeks around the corner, and her eyes widen when she sees Ichigo right in Kuchiki-san's face, arguing with her.

The strangest part of it all though, is that Kuchiki-san is giving it right back to him, and she sounds totally different from her usual self. She's glaring daggers at him and they are nose to nose. Ichigo is the one working to be in her face too, since he's so tall, he's purposely leaned over quite far to confront Kuchiki-san.

"Rukia...I swear...if you draw one more chappy rabbit on one of my notebooks, I'm going to lose my mind. Do you have any idea how embarrassing your drawings are?" Ichigo is snapping her face.

Tatsuki covers her mouth when Rukia slugs him in the gut, and Ichigo ends up doubled over in front of Rukia, who crosses her arms and stares at him.

"My drawings are lovely. If you couldn't see another one of my drawings for the rest of your life, it would make you cry, and you know it!" Rukia says, as she shakes a fist at him.

"Rukia..." Ichigo growls at her with a warning tone obvious in his voice, but Rukia smirks at him.

"You don't scare me." Rukia tells Ichigo as she sticks her tongue out at him. Ichigo straightens back up and scowls.

Tatsuki sees him say something, but he whispers so that only Rukia hears him.

"Don't say stuff like that at school." Ichigo whispers to Rukia, and she reluctantly nods and drops her arms to her side.

"Don't pick fights with me Ichigo." Rukia tells him fairly loudly, before she starts to walk away from Ichigo, who immediately trails after her.

Tatsuki can hardly believe the exchange she just saw. They are even more familiar with one another than she had previously realized.

"Tatsuki-chan!" Inoue's voice scares the hell out of Tatsuki, who gasps and jumps a bit at being caught off guard by her best friend. She quickly turns around.

"Yo, Orihime, you ready to go home?" Tatsuki asks, and her best friend smiles happily at her.

"Yes. What were you doing?" Inoue asks Tatsuki, who blushes at the realization that she had most definitely been eavesdropping.

"Just watching a couple of students argue," Tatsuki says vaguely. She's surprised when her best friend gets a really hurt look in her eyes for the space of a second, before it disappears.

"Was it Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san?" Inoue asks softly, causing Tatsuki's eyes to widen. She turns a bit pink since her friend is dead on.

"Yeah." Tatsuki admits with regret in her voice. Inoue lets out a wistful sigh.

"She really is amazing." Inoue tells Tatsuki, who just stares at her.

"Are they together or something?" Tatsuki asks, sensing that her friend might have some sort of insight on the pair. Inoue just shrugs though.

"You would have to ask them." Inoue says in a near whisper.

Tatsuki remembers the last time she questioned Kuchiki-san about her relationship status with Ichigo, and she is fairly certain that she didn't ever get a truthful answer out of her.

Kuchiki-san had seemed so very embarrassed, when asked about her feelings for Ichigo, not to mention that when they found her sitting in the tree, she had been looking in the direction of the school roof where Ichigo had been eating with several of his idiot buddies.

Nobody else had noticed it at the time, and Tatsuki hadn't ever said anything, but she noticed how Ichigo wasn't the only one between the two of them that acted suspiciously.

"I'm sick of wondering about it, I am about ready to ask them." Tatsuki tells Inoue, who looks a bit surprised at that remark.

"Really?" Inoue asks in surprise as they exit the school.

"Yeah. Don't you still like Ichigo?" Tatsuki asks Inoue, causing her to blush furiously.

"I don't want to talk about that," Inoue whispers. She doesn't know if she'll ever stop loving Kurosaki-kun, but she's come to realize that he doesn't have those kind of feelings for her.

"I'm not stupid, I see how you look at him." Tatsuki tells her, and Inoue sighs.

"I can't help it, he really is an amazing guy." Inoue tells Tatsuki, who just raises her eyebrows.

"I'm sick of wondering about it." Tatsuki says with a bit of annoyance in her voice.

Inoue gives her a look that tells her she doesn't think it's such a great idea, but Tatsuki's just too curious to simply let it go. Ichigo is her friend, and she hates that she has no idea what in the heck is going on with him.

_Later... _

When Tatsuki hurries home, after walking Orihime home, she passes by her own house and heads over to Ichigo's house.

The first thing that shocks her is that as she glances up at Ichigo's bedroom window, she can see Kuchiki-san inside. She's got her back to the window, but it is clearly her hair.

"So, she's in his bedroom?" Tatsuki says out loud, in a shocked voice.

She had figured that if she showed up here after school, he might not be with Kuchiki-san. That doesn't seem to be the case, however. As Tatsuki is staring up, Rukia turns around, and sees her looking up. Rukia freezes, since she doesn't know whether or not she should wave or get away from Ichigo's window.

Tatsuki waves, and Rukia waves back. Tatsuki notices how the instant Kuchiki-san waved back at her, she could hear Ichigo practically yelling at her.

Rukia crosses her arms and glares at Ichigo who has just loudly asked her who the hell she's waving at, out his window, and Rukia smugly replies.

"Come and see for yourself." Rukia says it with a smirk, and Ichigo rushes over to the window to look out.

When he sees Tatsuki, he isn't sure whether or not to be glad or irritated that it's her.

"Why are you calling attention to yourself in my bedroom?" Ichigo asks her with his cheeks tinged pink.

"She waved at me. Wouldn't it have been even more suspicious to ignore her?" Rukia asks logically. Ichigo glares at that comment.

"She's been giving us weird looks lately." Ichigo mumbles, since Rukia seems totally unaware that Tatsuki's definitely been noticing their closeness.

"Why is that?" Rukia asks Ichigo, who chooses to shrug, rather than answer her properly.

"I don't know...forget I said anything." Ichigo grumbles, as Rukia's spirit phone starts beeping.

Rukia pops her gikongan, and Ichigo just pops out of his body.

When Tatsuki is led to Ichigo's room by Yuzu to visit him, she finds Ichigo's head in Kuchiki-san's lap as she strokes his hair. Tatsuki's mouth drops open in shock, and Yuzu's face practically mirrors Tatsuki's face.

"Is something wrong with him?" Yuzu asks Rukia-chan, who is actually out killing hollows with Ichigo. Chappy smiles at Tatsuki and Yuzu.

"Just the usual." Chappy says with a bright smile. Yuzu lets out a small grin at that remark, and Tatsuki just opens and closes her mouth in shock for a second as she stares at the scene in front of her.

"He isn't moving." Tatsuki points out and Chappy grins again.

"I knocked him out." Chappy lies, and Yuzu actually laughs a little at that comment. She's sure Rukia-chan wouldn't hurt her brother.

"For what?" Tatsuki asks in horror. Chappy grins and lies again.

"He had happy hands." Chappy explains, and Tatsuki halfway bows at Rukia, who is actually Chappy.

"Tell Ichigo I'll talk to him tomorrow...sorry to interrupt!" Tatsuki says, before she flies out of the room, and down the stairs.

When Ichigo and Rukia arrive back from a successful hunt, Chappy quickly informs them that a guest stopped by. Ichigo and Rukia don't seem to hear her though, since they're staring at Ichigo's body with his head laying in Chappy's lap.

"What?" Ichigo asks, as he shakes his head in confusion.

"A girl with short dark hair came in here right after you left," Chappy reiterates, and Ichigo immediately looks worried.

"Um…were you by chance sitting just like that when she came in here?" Ichigo asks as his face starts to turn red. Chappy nods her head energetically and Rukia's eyes widen.

"What did you say to her?" Rukia asks, in a breathless voice. Chappy smiles.

"She wanted to know why he wasn't moving, and so I told her he had happy hands, which made me knock him out." Chappy says proudly, causing Rukia to double over into immediate laughter.

Ichigo finds nothing humorous about the situation.

"You did what?" Ichigo roars at Chappy.

"You heard her…she told Tatsuki that you had happy hands, and so she had to knock you out," Rukia says with a giggle. "Maybe now you'll learn your lesson about putting Kon in your body when you go to do your Shinigami duties." Rukia says, even though she can't stop laughing as she is talking to him.

Ichigo crosses his arms and glares at Rukia.

"Don't you even know how bad this is?" Ichigo asks her in a low voice. Rukia just gives him a look of confusion.

"How so?" Rukia asks, not understanding.

"Everyone is going to think that we're dating," Ichigo says, with wide eyes. Rukia gives him an even more puzzled look than before.

"Um…Ichigo? Everybody _already _thinks that." Rukia informs him, and Ichigo's eyes narrow at her.

"What?" Ichigo asks, since he doesn't believe a word that just came out of her mouth.

"Yeah, they've thought that for awhile now." Rukia tells him without so much as a waver in her voice.

"How do you know?" Ichigo asks her quietly, even as he tries to figure out what would make her think such a thing.

"I just know." Rukia tells him, since she doesn't want him to know the extent of the rumors. He has a tendency to flip out over the most insignificant things when it comes to his human life.

"I take it that it doesn't bother you?" Ichigo asks her, feeling a bit surprised at the way she's talking to him.

"It's never bothered me. It's better they think that, then all knowing that we're Shinigami." Rukia tells him without even blinking.

Ichigo just nods his head, but then Chappy sits up and stands, so that Rukia can get back into her gigai. Ichigo then gets back into his body.

"I still can't believe that bitch told Tatsuki that she knocked me out, because of my happy hands." Ichigo grumbles angrily, trying to figure out how he'll explain that one the next day in school.

_The Next Day…_

Ichigo hasn't spoken to Rukia much since after dinner last night, he's been pretty embarrassed by the whole Chappy incident concerning his soulless body.

Tatsuki can hardly believe it, when just after lunch, Kuchiki-san leaves Ichigo's side to use the ladies room. Tatsuki is on Ichigo in an instant. She drags him up to the school roof, and Ichigo starts to get nervous. He already knows what's coming next.

"Did she tell you I stopped by after school?" Tatsuki asks Ichigo with a pointed look. Ichigo blushes a bit at that question. He slowly nods his head yes, and then sighs before he looks above Tatsuki's head.

"Yeah…" Ichigo mutters, and Tatsuki crosses her arms.

"What gives, Ichigo? Is there something going on between the two of you? What is she to you?" Tatsuki asks bluntly.

Tatsuki isn't prepared for the incredibly confused look that comes over her friend's face after she asks that question. Ichigo stops breathing for a second.

_What is she to me? I never really thought about that before…or never really let myself think about that before. Rukia doesn't mind people thinking we're together, and I like the idea of people thinking it too. Guys will leave her alone if they think she's dating me._

"Um…" Ichigo mutters, even as he tries to think of some way to answer Tatsuki's question without lying to his friend of over a decade.

_What is she to me? Damn it, what the hell is she to me?!_

"Anytime today would be nice," Tatsuki says as she glares at him.

"You see-" Ichigo starts to say, but Tatsuki interrupts him.

"The truth Ichigo! I'm sick of the lies. Tell me honestly what she is to you. Is she a friend like me, or is she something else?" Tatsuki presses, and Ichigo's eyes widen at the realization that washes over him in that instant.

_She's not a friend like you Tatsuki…she's much more than that. She's the reason I stand here now, and the reason I can fight to protect others. She's…my number one most important person._

"Uh…" Ichigo mumbles again as he tries to think of the right words to explain to Tatsuki what Rukia actually is to him.

"Come on, it's not that difficult of a question," Tatsuki says impatiently, and she starts to get nervous, since she spots Rukia walking towards Ichigo, though his back is to her. Ichigo sighs as though he's defeated.

"She is…she is…more important to me than anyone." Ichigo finally admits in a voice that sounds like he's surprised. He smiles at Tatsuki. "You know, that wasn't as hard to admit as I thought it would be." Ichigo says, feeling good that he got the words out, and that they're true.

"You're more important to me than anyone too," Rukia's voice sounds behind Ichigo and he jumps about two feet in the air when she speaks.

"Rukia…" Ichigo says, even as his face turns white.

_She heard._

"I see. Well at least I know now." Tatsuki says, before she hurries off to find the girls to eat lunch. Ichigo and Rukia watch her nearly sprint away from them.

Ichigo looks down at Rukia, and she looks back up at him. They both smile, and Rukia holds out her hand. Ichigo grabs it and they walk over to the shade, to enjoy a cozy lunch, just the two of them.

Ichigo feels stupid as all kinds of corny thoughts start running through his brain. There's only one that he doesn't think is corny, just true.

_She is my everything…that is what Rukia is to me._


	8. As Requested: Going After Rukia 2

_**A/N-This one is a request to do the sequel to chapter 2, and so here it is! I hope you all enjoy it, and for those of you who really appreciate my writing, you'll be happy to know that I plan on posting the first chapter of my new long story tonight, it will be called Inner Hollow, so please check it out if you don't have me on an author alert! This is dedicated to the one that requested it and also Oblivious for the use of his character, please enjoy!**_

_Going After Rukia 2_

Ichigo grins as he follows Byakuya. He doesn't even know where they're getting married, but Rukia's short dress is riding up her legs as she rides his back, and he keeps letting his hands slowly move upward.

It had been so nice when she kissed his ear and reassured him that she wanted to marry him.

He never thought for one minute that when he woke up this morning, he'd have such an exciting day. He's experienced fear, worry, anger, surprise, relief, happiness, and finding his love. He's experienced so much in such a short time that he feels like his head is spinning. He sure as shit never thought he'd be getting married today, when he woke up this morning.

Ichigo realizes Byakuya has already stopped, and then Ichigo realizes it's an outdoor wedding. He figures it probably had to be since it was done so hastily. What surprises Ichigo, is the number of people who have shown up. Ichigo's body is waiting for him in the bushes, thanks to Urahara. Yoruichi had gotten Rukia's gigai ready too, and only some of the guests see Rukia and Ichigo arrive.

When Rukia sees her gigai, she is shocked that it is dressed in a much fancier wedding dress than the one she thought she'd be getting married in. Byakuya had made it seem like they'd be getting married in spirit form.

It looks just like a really high end wedding dress, it's beautiful with silk and lace embroidered over the top of it.

"You'll be having two ceremonies, back to back. The first will be for the humans, since there are so many of them here, and the second will be the spirit marriage agreement." Byakuya informs them, and Rukia realizes that she actually will be getting married in her short white dress…just after she gets married in a proper and beautiful one.

She and Ichigo go separate directions to get into their bodies.

"Ni-sama…how did you find a dress in my size on such short notice?" Rukia asks him, and she hears someone laughing diabolically behind her. Rukia spins on her heels to see Ishida behind her.

"I am just that amazing." Ishida says as he pushes up his glasses and feels quite proud of himself. Byakuya walks away to make sure Kurosaki waits in the right place for his sister.

"You did this? Thank you!" Rukia says, with a heartfelt smile.

"I'm just glad Kurosaki was able to rescue you without fucking it up," Ishida says. Rukia thinks he's lucky that Ichigo didn't just hear him.

"Kuchiki-san!" Inoue's voice interrupts them and she looks wide eyed as she stares at Rukia.

"Hello Inoue!" Rukia says with a huge grin, showing her happiness on her wedding day.

"Is it true? Are you really marrying Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue asks with big watery eyes. Rukia mistakes her emotion to be joy rather than sadness.

"It's completely true!" Rukia says as she takes a big breath and marvels at how her heart has been racing ever since her brother uttered the words marriage ceremony. Rukia slips into her gigai in front of the pair.

"It's so sudden!" Inoue says in a soft voice, and Rukia nods.

"It's all because I'm exiled from Soul Society until Aizen is killed. Ichigo was ordered not to come and rescue me, but of course he broke the rules and swore to take care of me. My brother said he couldn't do that without being married to me, and so here we are!" Rukia says with a big happy smile.

Inoue feels a little stupid asking the next question, but she has to now, before the marriage takes place.

"Are you sure you want to marry Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue asks and Ishida gasps. Rukia's eyes widen in response to that question. She thought her feelings were written all over her face.

"Inoue-san!" Ishida says in shock.

"I'm sorry, I just had to be sure. I care about both of you a great deal, and if you weren't happy about it, then it would bother me." Inoue says, fibbing quite a bit, since she doesn't have the backbone to admit that she is desperately in love with Rukia's intended husband.

"Don't worry, Inoue. I love Ichigo a great deal, and we're both happy with the way it's turning out." Rukia tells Inoue with a grin.

"Do you want me to help you with your dress?" Inoue asks in a soft voice, feeling the pain of surrender with her whole heart.

"Sure," Rukia says with a grin, and Ishida smiles again.

"I think I'll go sit with Sado." Ishida says, as Inoue smoothes out Rukia's dress.

"I'm really excited!" Rukia says in a voice oozing with happiness, and Inoue nods. She knows she would be happy if she were the one marrying Kurosaki-kun too.

"Ishida-kun made you a really great dress," Inoue says, even though she can't rid herself of the envy that she feels so strongly right now.

"I'm getting married today! Married!" Rukia practically squeals, just like a typical blushing bride.

"You're ready," Inoue says, even though she wishes that those words just weren't true.

"Ni-sama!" Rukia calls out, and Byakuya appears a moment later.

"Rukia, if ever that kid isn't treating you right, make sure you let me know and I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget," Byakuya tells Rukia who grins up at him. Inoue feels a twisting in her heart. Not only has Kuchiki-san gotten the luck of being Kurosaki-kun's bride, she even has a brother who cares deeply for her.

"I'm sure Ichigo will treat me well." Rukia assures Byakuya.

Ichigo is waiting for Rukia to reappear, and he grins at his little sisters who are wide eyed in the front row. Ichigo wonders how his father and Byakuya got their hands on so many chairs on such short notice. Isshin has the biggest shit grin on his face, and it hasn't left his face since Ichigo spotted his father.

"I can't believe you got me a tuxedo." Ichigo says under his breath, even though he's happy.

He wants Rukia to have as much of the wedding experience as possible. Thoughts of what typically occurs the night of the wedding flash through his head and he starts to turn a bit red.

Isshin notices his son's cheeks turning red, and he accurately concludes that Ichigo is thinking of Rukia-chan in bed tonight.

Ichigo doesn't even want to think about how the conversation between his father and Byakuya went to set up this extremely hasty wedding.

When Rukia appears with Byakuya, Ichigo's mouth drops open in shock. He hadn't expected a wedding dress to suit her so perfectly. They have no attending party, although they have plenty of witnesses.

Keigo and Mizuiro weren't invited, but they happened to be walking by the park and saw Ichigo in a tuxedo and had decided to stay since they realized he was getting married. Tatsuki is there already, since Isshin had called her to attend. Urahara brought everyone from his shop, and Yoruichi has a short burgundy dress on, which looks beautiful on her. Urahara looks too thrilled that Yoruichi arrived holding onto his arm.

Rukia notices as she walks down the aisle, how many have attended. She smiles brightly and she can hardly believe how drop dead gorgeous Ichigo looks in a tuxedo.

Rukia's favorite part was getting her first kiss from Ichigo while he was looking ultra hot in his black tuxedo. She had especially loved how he blushed afterwards.

They get through the ceremonies, and Rukia hurries back into her gigai, since the white dress she has on her spiritual form is rather revealing. Most of the guests stayed to witness the second wedding since they had the capability to do so, and afterwards, everyone heads to the Kurosaki residence.

Isshin had ordered a ton of take out food, and soon everyone is pigging out. Yuzu immediately got to making a cake for her brother's special day, even though it wouldn't be ready for a few hours, she wants him to have a wedding cake.

Ichigo and Rukia stay side by side, and accept everyone's warm wishes for their future. Yuzu smiles in sheer happiness when the bride and groom romantically feed each other the cake that she had made for their wedding day.

Ichigo keeps his arm around Rukia for most of the evening, and they're very surprised when a limousine arrives at the residence.

"I got you two a room in the honeymoon suite at the nicest hotel in Tokyo, enjoy your wedding night to the fullest!" Isshin declares, and that causes Rukia and Ichigo to both turn bright red.

"Let me grab a few things from upstairs first," Ichigo mutters as he runs up to grab clothes for he and Rukia for the next day. His father shocks him by entering his bedroom as Ichigo is grabbing deodorant.

"I got you one other present for your wedding night." Isshin says, unaware that downstairs Yoruichi is saying those same exact words to Rukia.

"What?" Ichigo asks as he turns around. Isshin grins and presents Ichigo with some strawberry flavored lotion.

"It's edible." Isshin explains, and Ichigo turns red again. He takes it though, and throws it in the bag with the rest of the things he's grabbed. Isshin shoots him a knowing smile. He knows his son will use the lotion.

Yoruichi presents Rukia with a white teddy with fur lining the top and bottom of it. It has a pair of white furry panties to go with it, and Rukia is just as red as Ichigo is upstairs, particularly since so many people saw her receive her gift.

"That will render him speechless," Yoruichi predicts, and Rukia gulps and sticks the racy nightwear back in the gift bag.

Ichigo comes tearing down the stairs as though he's running from the devil, and Isshin trails after him.

"Remember Ichigo! A real man always makes sure the lady finds her pleasure first!" Isshin yells at the top of his lungs and the newly married couple blush together.

Ichigo wants to reply, but everyone has started to cheer. Ichigo and Rukia hurry to the limousine, but Isshin isn't done being louder than the rest of the crowd.

"Make sure you don't stick it in the wrong spot!" Isshin roars, and Ichigo almost falls on his face before he reaches the limo. He spins around and gives his father a horrified look.

_Even I can't believe those words just came out of his mouth!_

"Hurry up before he says something else!" Rukia hisses at Ichigo who quickly hurries to obey her.

"And remember to use the lotion!" Isshin shouts as Ichigo slams the limousine door shut and breathes a big sigh out.

"That asshole…" Ichigo grumbles, and Rukia giggles a bit.

"I wonder what our room will look like," Rukia says, since she's only been in a hotel once, to kill a hollow.

"Who knows." Ichigo says as he slips his arm around her. Rukia smiles up at him, and Ichigo takes the opportunity to have their first kiss alone. Rukia feels her body react instantly to the intimacy of it, and she quickly works to become the aggressor, but Ichigo doesn't let her take the lead for long, he always comes back strong, reminding her with his lips that he is a man, and she is a woman.

Rukia has never been very aware of her feminine wiles, but the way Ichigo looks at her after they pull away, she quickly realizes how much she truly does affect him.

_How did I never notice this before today?_

When they arrive at the hotel, they're both a bit disappointed that they have to stop necking, but Rukia looks forward to seeing their room.

The clerk looks at them in surprise when Ichigo gives the name Kurosaki, and they can read her thoughts.

_A bit young to be getting married!_

When they are led into their room, Rukia's jaw drops. It's got a huge bed, a hot tub, and it's totally romantic. There are red silk pillowcases, and it doesn't look at all like the last room she saw. Rukia looks around in interest, until Ichigo's badge starts to beep. Rukia sighs.

"I didn't want to work on our wedding night," Rukia complains, but Ichigo uses his badge to pop them both out of their bodies.

They hurry to the location of the hollow in question and they both stop in their tracks at the sight of Esteban Gobernadorro standing there like he's waiting for them.

"Esteban?" Ichigo asks in a high pitched voice. Esteban grins at them.

"I wanted to see how you two were doing. I am going to have to hide out in the living world until the heat dies down in Hueco Mundo. Aizen has his top two Espada hunting Hueco Mundo for me." Esteban explains, and Ichigo nods. Rukia looks back and forth between them, and realizes she's going to have to ask the obvious.

"Do you plan on eating souls while you're here?" Rukia asks him sharply, and Esteban gives her a look of surprise.

"Why in the hell would I want to do that?" Esteban asks with a superior scoff as he lifts his chin.

"Don't you have to eat?" Rukia asks him suspiciously.

"I ate before I came here. I won't need to eat again for a month. When it is time to eat, maybe the heat will have died down by then." Esteban tells her, and Rukia gives him a hard glare.

"We won't ignore it if you take souls here." Rukia warns him, and Esteban rolls his eyes at her, even though he nods.

"As long as you agree not to take souls, I think we can overlook your presence here, since you helped us get back." Ichigo tells him, and Esteban nods.

"I hope you don't mind, but Ichigo and I were about to share our wedding night together…we don't mean to be rude but-" Rukia tries to excuse them from the presence of Esteban since she wants to soak in that awesome looking hot tub.

"I knew you two would get together! Congratulations!" Esteban says to Ichigo with a smile before he starts to laugh.

"What is so funny?" Ichigo asks him with a raised eyebrow.

"You were wishing for a girlfriend and you got a wife." Esteban says as he keeps laughing, and Ichigo blushes. He completely forgot that he had admitted that to Esteban. Rukia looks surprised.

"Really?" Rukia asks in awe. She can't believe Ichigo admitted something like that before he knew about the wedding lying in wait for them.

"Yeah, but I'll leave you alone for the rest of the day. See you!" Esteban says as he turns to take a walk.

They head back upstairs, and Ichigo's mouth drops to the floor when Rukia goes to the hot tub and turns on the water. She gives Ichigo a grin.

"You're going to get in with me, right?" Rukia asks him, and Ichigo blushes. He nods his head yes though.

"I'm glad you're my wife and not just my girlfriend," Ichigo tells her, and Rukia smiles at him.

"That's good, because as my husband, it's your responsibility to help me out of this cumbersome dress." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo blushes again. He walks over and locates the zipped on the back of the dress along with the white hook at the top.

Rukia waits for him to finish unzipping her and then she leans over and presses the button for the jets and bubbles to start up.

"I was wondering what those buttons did." Rukia says with a pleased smile. She pulls the dress down and then pulls off her underwear. Yoruichi had been the one to dress her gigai, and Rukia realizes that Yoruichi gave her a second pair of sexy panties when she pulls off the underwear. They have a saying on them.

_I may not be perfect but you'll find no flaws._

Rukia smiles, she likes these underwear. Ichigo holds his breath as she gets into the tub, and then he starts to remove his tuxedo. He feels nervous since Rukia's complete attention is on him.

"Ichigo what was your father talking about when he mentioned lotion?" Rukia asks curiously. Ichigo yanks his jacket off and then walks over to his bag to pull it out and show her. Rukia looks at it and smiles up at him with anticipation.

"You know, what I thought would be the worst day of my life, has turned out to be the best," Rukia tells him with a happy smile as he removes his dress shirt.

When he's finally naked and in the tub with her, Rukia moves to his lap and leans up against him with her back to his front. Ichigo slips his arms around her and nearly has an orgasm at the first feel of her naked body.

"It's the best day of my life too," Ichigo says honestly as he kisses the top of her head and knows he is lucky Aizen didn't kill her.

Rukia sighs and relaxes against Ichigo even though she can't lose the excitement in her body from being naked in the tub with him. She smiles and closes her eyes.

_I can't wait to lick that lotion off your body!_


	9. Immortal Isshin

**A/N-This is another one shot with the perspective of Isshin being the current Spirit King. It's different from Inheritance, with the perspective that Isshin himself is the current Spirit King. I always find myself thinking about the fact that all of the evidence points to Ichigo being part of the most noble family in existence. So anyways, I hope you all enjoy it!**

_Immortal Isshin _

When the war started in the fake Karakura Town, Isshin watched Soul Society battle for the good of Karakura Town, and of course to protect the dimension that he had been playing hooky from for the past twenty or so years. If Urahara hadn't come up with the reiatsu sucking gigai, he wouldn't have been able to hide out in the living world like this for so long.

Of those in charge of Soul Society, only the Commander General and Unohana would recognize the Spirit King, since Isshin hasn't set foot in Soul Society in over eight hundred years.

He can't remember whether or not he's seen the other commendable Shinigami. He had finally gotten bored of his privileged and uninteresting life after thousands of years of living, and when he came to visit the living world, he had been so taken in by how different it was here from his own royal dimension, and from Soul Society.

He was already quite a skilled fighter at a very young age, and his garb was very similar to that of Shinigami. The difference is that he wears a shoulder ornament that proves his status as the King of Soul Society, along with part of a Captain's robe to symbolize his strength was beyond that of a Captain, though still labeled Captain class...or Godly class.

When Isshin met Masaki, he ended up saving her from a hollow. He could hardly believe that she had the ability to see him, and Isshin fell in love, nearly instantly. Masaki proved to be a bit of a challenge, she didn't fall into his arms instantly, but when Isshin had finally won her over, he finally achieved the happiness that he had been seeking his whole life.

Isshin had Urahara make him an even stronger reiatsu sucking gigai than the one he had originally created, so that Isshin could live a real life with Masaki, at her insistence. He had promised Urahara that he'd be accepted by Soul Society within twenty-five years if he complied. He always promised Masaki that some day he'd show her the royal dimension, but he knows she's there now, waiting for him.

She has been there since the day he killed the infernal hollow that had killed her. With Karin and Yuzu still being so young though, Isshin knows he'll have to make Masaki wait awhile longer before they can finally be reunited. He misses her dearly, but he loves the children that they created together too.

Isshin knows he could end this whole conflict with one swing of his zanpakutou, his power has fully returned, but the Shinigami all need to get stronger, in his opinion. They've fallen below par of what he expects of them.

Several hundred years ago, there was a whole lot more strength in Soul Society. That's the way it should stay, as far as Isshin is concerned.

Unlike his son, Isshin is adept at controlling his reiatsu, and also at masking it. None of the captains can sense him, or know that he is watching this battle with his own two eyes. Isshin has also known about Aizen's plans for over a hundred years, and he gave the man a chance to see the light and do something better with his life, even though Isshin knew it wasn't likely.

Isshin knows his son will be trying to come to this battle, since protecting his friends isn't the only thing that's important to him. This town that he's grown up in, and where his family lives is also terribly important to Ichigo. Isshin doesn't want his son to be aware just yet though, who he really is.

Ichigo certainly doesn't need to realize that his nobility extends further than that of the Kuchiki house. It's not necessary for him to know that yet. Suddenly, a space opens up from Hueco Mundo, and Isshin looks in surprise as a cute green haired Arrancar lets several captains out of Hueco Mundo.

Isshin smiles when he sees Captain Unohana, and he's grateful that her attention is on the fight in the sky and not himself. None of the captains notice Isshin, but he eyes Byakuya. Isshin has business with this man, and he wants to settle it now, before Ichigo can come back and spoil everything.

Byakuya is the last one out of Hueco Mundo, and Isshin grins as he uses a binding spell to capture the noble Captain Kuchiki. None of the other captains notice, and Byakuya's mouth is unable to work as his eyes widen from being unable to move. Isshin materializes spirit threads and manipulates them around Byakuya before he yanks on Byakuya to drag him down to the earth.

When Byakuya lands on his ass, he's pretty pissed off, after all it's so very undignified, and if there is one word that nobody uses to describe Byakuya it is undignified!

"Byakuya." Isshin's voice is low and booming, as he undoes the bindings, and Byakuya's eyes widen as he realizes who he is looking at. The shoulder ornament is a dead giveaway.

Byakuya moves to his knees and bows his head for the King. This is one of those times when he must not allow his pride to get the better of him. The Spirit King is leagues ahead of him, in terms of strength.

"Sire," Byakuya says subserviently.

"I have business with you." Isshin announces, and Byakuya glances up in surprise.

"With me, sire?" Byakuya says in amazement.

"I'm well aware that you haven't arranged any marriage for Rukia-chan, and I-" Isshin starts to say, but Byakuya reacts without thinking it through.

"She'd never agree to marry you." Byakuya says with a regretful shake of his head. Isshin can't help but to laugh at Byakuya's inference of his half statement.

"My wife wouldn't agree to such a thing either." Isshin tells Byakuya with an amused grin.

"I'm very sorry my lord, I shouldn't have reacted like that." Byakuya says, even as he begins to wonder why an arranged marriage for Rukia would take precedence over the current battle going on above them.

"As I was saying, I'm aware that you haven't arranged a marriage for Rukia-chan and I'd like to arrange that right now. She will be married to my son." Isshin tells Byakuya, who can't help but to gape at his King. Then he starts to notice that the Spirit King has very familiar looking eyes.

"Your son..." Byakuya says, and then he realizes what Isshin is saying. Byakuya gasps and stares wide eyed at Isshin.

"I see you've figured it out. She will be married to Ichigo." Isshin says with a smile.

"Why?" Byakuya finally gets the question out.

"She makes him happy. I need no more reason than that. He's still unaware of his level of importance, and I don't want you to be giving it away. We're not going to tell them of this arrangement, just yet." Isshin says, and Byakuya bows his head.

"As your majesty desires," Byakuya says with his head down.

"Excellent! Now go and fight." Isshin tells him, as he stands back to watch the battle commence with new vigor due to the arrival of the captains from Hueco Mundo.

Byakuya feels a flood of emotions rush through his body as he heads towards the battle. It makes sense now, how quickly Kurosaki Ichigo had improved. It had been so unbelievable that a human of sixteen years old could actually defeat him and already have a bankai. Now it doesn't seem so unbelievable, considering who the kid's father actually is.

Isshin watches with a smile as the battle rages on.

"They'll all become much, much stronger." Isshin says as he crosses his arms.

When Matsumoto Rangiku falls to the ground from her injury, Isshin hurries over to her, and begins to heal her. She is a very beautiful woman, and Isshin wants her to keep living, since she is a good person.

He has sensed this woman in his home before, and knows Ichigo is on good terms with her, as well.

Isshin's powers start to work on her almost immediately, and when Rangiku opens her eyes, she squints to make out the Shinigami helping her.

"Who are you?" She croaks at him, as her wounds continue to heal.

"Just someone who's helping you out. You will definitely rejoin the fight." Isshin assures her, and that is when Unohana flies down on Minazuki. Unohana's eyes widen as she realizes just who is helping out Rangiku-san, and she immediately falls to her knees for the King of Soul Society.

"Your Majesty! I had no idea that you were even here!" Unohana says with surprise.

"Unohana, can you keep my presence here a secret?" Isshin asks as he finishes up with Matsumoto who is now sitting up and realizing who exactly just helped her by Captain Unohana's words.

"Sire!" Matsumoto says in a frantic voice. "I'm very sorry that you had to save me!" Matsumoto says in a shamed voice.

"Don't be sorry, just go back to the fight. And do not mention to a soul, that you saw me here." Isshin orders her, and Matsumoto bows her acquiescence. She flies back towards the battle allowing Unohana and Isshin to talk privately.

"Sire...you have the power to end all of this, won't you lend us your power?" Unohana asks him as she keeps her head lowered.

"Soul Society has gotten too weak in the past several hundred years. I won't interfere just yet. I want everyone to learn something from this battle." Isshin responds and Unohana stays silent for a second.

"Permission to go back to battle, sire?" Unohana asks him, and Isshin nods.

"Permission, granted." Isshin tells her, and he continues to watch the battle in the sky.

_A Year Later... _

"What is going on with my body?" Ichigo asks Urahara even as he looks uncomfortable in his own skin. Rukia is next to him, looking at Ichigo with concern.

"It's deteriorating. Human bodies aren't meant to stop aging, or be left without souls in them for extended periods of time." Urahara says, even as he gives Ichigo a regretful look.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asks nervously.

"I mean you can't stay in it much longer." Urahara says, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"Meaning he'll no longer be a substitute Shinigami, but a Shinigami?" Rukia asks Urahara. He nods at her.

"You should say your goodbyes to anybody who can't see you in spiritual form." Urahara tells Ichigo, and Rukia just gapes at Urahara.

"So I won't be watching over Karakura Town anymore?" Ichigo asks as he scratches his head.

"No. Chances are, with your skills, you'll become a Captain in Soul Society." Urahara explains. Rukia realizes tears are falling down her face, and Ichigo looks at her with his eyes softening up.

"I'm so sorry Ichigo...if it wasn't for me, your time on earth wouldn't be cut so short." Rukia says, feeling miserable. Ichigo grabs her arm and stares at her in the eyes.

"Even if we could go back in time to change it, I wouldn't want to," Ichigo assures her, and Rukia gives him a small and thankful smile.

"Now you have to say good-bye to your family!" Rukia says, with her voice sounding very unlike her usual self.

"It's not like I'll never see them again," Ichigo reasons, and Rukia just stands there, looking troubled.

"Don't beat yourself up, Kuchiki-san, it all worked out the way it was supposed to." Urahara says, and Ichigo doesn't even realize the significance of this statement. Rukia does though, and she shoots Urahara a very suspicious look.

"Rukia, will you come with me to say my goodbyes?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia nods her head yes.

"Of course." Rukia tells him, and they head out the door. Urahara smiles and Yoruichi struts next to him in cat form and then sits down watching the couple disappear out of their sight.

"I'm going to have to beg Isshin to let me be there when he tells them about the arranged marriage." Urahara says, with amusement laced in his voice.

"The looks on their faces ought to be priceless. I'm amazed that they can still stick by each other so closely and not act on their attraction for one another. They have far more willpower than you or I." Yoruichi says, causing Urahara to grin.

"I'll never forget the first time I made love to you," Urahara tells her, and Yoruichi scoffs.

"I don't suppose you would...you were pretty embarrassed that you couldn't even last for a minute back then." Yoruichi says with a chuckle. Urahara chooses not to respond to that, even though he blushes in embarrassment, as what she said was completely true.

"You know...when everyone finds out who he really is...there will be an uproar." Urahara predicts and Yoruichi nods her head.

"He's always been an intriguing kid. He's nothing like most men." Yoruichi says, and they both sigh as they wonder how much longer it will be before they can finally return to Soul Society and resume being a captain.

Her friend, the Captain of the Second Division, has already graciously offered to be demoted to Yoruichi's Lieutenant if Yoruichi is allowed to take her previous position ever again, and Urahara will be able to have his former life back as well, even though Mayuri won't step down, there are three other captains seats available, so if Ichigo, Yoruichi, and Urahara take those positions, Soul Society will have its power of thirteen captains back in full force.

_At Ichigo's house... _

Ichigo has gathered his family in the kitchen, and Rukia is at his side. He didn't think that saying his farewells to them would be difficult, but he feels his throat start to tighten up as he looks at them all. Isshin is grinning at them, and wearing a shirt that says "immortal."

"Pops, Karin, Yuzu...I have something important to tell you." Ichigo says, taking a deep breath, Rukia looks up at Ichigo, offering him silent support as he tries to get a hold of himself to tell them the news.

"What is it, Ichi-ni?" Karin asks worriedly. She can see the serious look in both her brother and Rukia's eyes. She knows it's big.

"I know you already know this Karin, but just listen...okay?" Ichigo asks his sister, who stares at him with a look of dread.

"Fine." Karin says, and she waits for him to continue. Ichigo takes one more deep breath before doing so.

"I am a Shinigami." Ichigo says, and he notices that only Yuzu has a surprised expression.

"Shinigami?" Yuzu asks curiously, and Isshin sighs.

"What's wrong, son?" Isshin asks, even though he already knows. Urahara had called to warn him.

"My human body is deteriorating. I need to take my place in the death life now." Ichigo tells them all, and Yuzu's eyes immediately fill with tears. Karin looks horrified.

"Death life?!" Yuzu nearly shrieks, and Rukia's eyes widen with guilt at her response.

"You haven't even turned eighteen yet! Why do you need to die?" Karin asks in an agitated and loud voice.

"It's not like I'll cease to exist," Ichigo tells them. "When you all die, I'll be in Soul Society, waiting to see you again. I'll probably end up a Captain of Soul Society, so when you die, you should go to the center of Soul Society and demand to see me." Ichigo tells them, but the girls both start to cry.

"Ichi-ni...I don't want you to die!" Karin says with a lump in her throat as she quickly wipes the tears away from her face. Yuzu buries her face in her hands and starts to sob.

"Hey! What is this reaction! I'm not sad about it at all, I promise you!" Ichigo tells them. "The hardest part will be to leave my family behind, and wait for you to all join me in Soul Society." Ichigo tells them, and Yuzu stands up and runs to her brother. She throws her arms around him and sobs into his chest.

"It's not fair...you don't deserve to die!" Yuzu blubbers into his chest, and Ichigo sighs, even as he hugs his sister back.

"It's really no big deal," Ichigo tells her, and that only makes her cry harder.

"What about Rukia-chan? Won't you miss her at all?" Yuzu wails, and Ichigo turns bright red.

"Rukia is a Shinigami too." Ichigo informs her, and Yuzu's pulls away from him to stare at him in horror. She looks at Rukia as more tears fall down her face.

"You're going to die too? It's like I'm losing a sister!" Yuzu cries as she throws herself at Rukia next. Ichigo can tell Rukia is shocked at Yuzu's emotional reaction.

"When I get up there, you had better have the Kurosaki name well respected by then!" Isshin tells Ichigo and Yuzu pulls away from Rukia to glare at her father.

"How can you be so calm! They're dying!" Yuzu admonishes her father with more outrage than Ichigo has ever heard coming out of her mouth. She's usually so subdued.

"Yuzu! It will be okay, I promise you. Even though Rukia is coming with me, we'll make sure we see you again, when you come to Soul Society. All of the guardians of the gates of Soul Society will be given orders to call me out to meet with you when you arrive in the Court of Pure Souls." Ichigo tells her, and Yuzu just sniffles.

"She just doesn't understand, she'll be okay." Isshin assures Ichigo, who suddenly gives his father a very suspicious look.

"Why aren't you more surprised? I understand why Karin isn't, since she's seen me in Shinigami form." Ichigo tells him, and Isshin just grins at his son.

"Really son, how stupid do you think I am?" Isshin asks with his lips curved upwards and Ichigo just stares at his father.

"I'm not sure." Ichigo answers honestly and Isshin looks wounded at his son's candor.

"Oh Mother! Our children don't respect me at all! What should I do?" Isshin says as he runs over to Masaki's poster.

"When will you leave?" Yuzu asks as she sniffles. "Can you stay for one last family dinner?" Yuzu begs, and Ichigo gives his sister a reassuring smile.

"Of course. Rukia and I will be back for dinner. We're going to go say sayonara to a few other people though." Ichigo explains, and Yuzu immediately starts to plan out a feast.

"Take care!" Yuzu says, as she struggles to stop crying. Rukia looks relieved that they're leaving, and Ichigo knows she blames herself for his sister's reaction. Ichigo heads out the door and Rukia is right behind him.

"Rukia." Ichigo says, once they're outside with the door shut.

"Yes Ichigo?" Rukia says as she looks up at him.

"I don't want you to feel bad or guilty at all." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia just nods. She doesn't know how she's supposed to stop feeling what she's feeling, just because he told her to.

"I'll try," Rukia says, and Ichigo smiles a little bit.

They end up saying bye to Tatsuki, Mizuiro, and Keigo before they head back to the house for dinner. Ichigo hadn't gone into detail as to why they wouldn't see him anymore, he just said medically it wasn't possible for him to live much longer.

The family dinner that Yuzu prepared for Ichigo and Rukia's last night in the living world wasn't one that they'd soon forget. The mood was much more happy though, since Isshin had spent the better part of an hour in the kitchen with Yuzu, assuring her that she would one day get to see her brother again.

Ichigo and Rukia enjoy the large and delicious meal a great deal, and afterwards they head upstairs to take pictures of his family and a couple of books and some casual clothes for his permanent trip to Soul Society. He looks around the room, where he's shared so many memories with the pretty Shinigami standing next to him, and he smiles happily as he shuts off the light.

When they head downstairs, Ichigo assures his sisters that he's not leaving just yet, since there are other people that he must say goodbye to first.

Ichigo and Rukia call together a meeting at Inoue's house, and when they show up, everyone else is already there.

"Kurosaki-kun! Kuchiki-san!" Inoue says, with a smile. Even though she doesn't like how much closer they are to each other than she is with him, she feels like there is still smidgeon of hope for her, and Kurosaki-kun.

As long as he's single, there's the chance he'll suddenly start to notice that a woman is standing in front of him. She gives him her best smile as they walk into her apartment. She hasn't spoken to Tatsuki today, so she doesn't know the news that Ichigo is about to share with her.

"Hello, Inoue." Rukia says as she removes her shoes and puts on the indoor slippers available by the door.

"Yo," Ichigo says to everyone as he also puts on some indoor slippers. Soon they're all seated around Inoue's table, and Rukia clasps her hands on the top of the table and stares down at them.

"Why did you want to meet?" Inoue asks in a cheerful tone, and Rukia shuts her eyes as Ichigo clears his throat.

"We called you here to say goodbye. Unfortunately, my human body has started to deteriorate, and I can no longer remain here." Ichigo explains, and everyone shows matching expressions of shock and horror at his words.

"How terrible! Kurosaki-kun, are you okay?" Inoue asks with the worry showing in her eyes. Ichigo gives her a look of confusion before he nods his head yes.

"You're going to Soul Society?" Sado asks right after Ichigo nods. Ichigo smiles.

"Yeah. Rukia and I will be returning to Soul Society after we stop back at my house and pick up my stuff." Ichigo explains, and he's not prepared for Inoue to burst into tears.

"Inoue?" Rukia asks as a surge of guilt comes again.

"I can't help being sad…I'm losing two of my friends at the same time!" Inoue wails as she starts to bawl harder. Ichigo gives Sado and Ishida both an uncomfortable look, and Sado shrugs, while Ishida rolls his eyes.

"Inoue-san…we'll be here to help you get through this," Ishida says, as he indicates Sado and himself.

"But I-" Inoue starts to say, but Ishida correctly guesses she's about to confess her feelings and so he purposely cuts her off from continuing to speak.

"What's important is that Kurosaki is happy. You _are_ happy, right?" Ishida asks, Ichigo who gives him an appreciative smile.

"Yeah. I'm okay with it, so you don't need to worry about me." Ichigo says, to all of his friends.

Inoue sniffles even as she realizes Ishida is right. If she confesses now, it's not like he can stay and be here with her, as his body is deteriorating.

Ichigo and Rukia spend an hour reminiscing about the past before they finally leave to head back to Ichigo's house. On the way, Ichigo notices that Rukia still doesn't seem to have gotten rid of the guilt that she's somehow responsible for all of this.

"You know, I really am happy." Ichigo tells her softly, and Rukia gives him a look of surprise.

"Really?" Rukia asks him, and Ichigo gives her a generously large smile.

"Don't I look it?" Ichigo teases her, and Rukia finds a small smile at his attempt to make her feel better.

"Yeah…you really do." Rukia says, even as she realizes he's as serious as a heart attack.

"So stop looking sad. Be happy with me." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia nods her head.

"Alright. Your family will probably feel more at ease if we look happy as we leave too." Rukia says, and Ichigo grins down at her, for understanding what's important.

"You should be happy anyways. Now we'll be in Soul Society together, and you won't have to take anymore crap about your extended mission in Karakura Town." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia nods.

They quietly walk the rest of the way, and when they get home, they find Isshin and his sisters on the couch waiting for them. Yuzu jumps up when the door opens and she hurries over to her brother and Rukia.

"We have to be on our way now," Ichigo tells his family with a broad smile.

Next to Ichigo, Rukia is also smiling and Isshin can't help but smile when he thinks of what a handsome couple they make. He will be so happy when they have adorable children that he can spoil rotten.

"Take care of Rukia-chan!" Yuzu orders Ichigo and Isshin smiles.

"I couldn't have said that better." Isshin says, and Rukia blushes.

"Sure," Ichigo says, as he turns a bit pink.

"Take care of Ichi-ni…please." Karin says to Rukia, and Ichigo looks surprised, but Rukia smiles.

"I will." Rukia tells Karin and Ichigo grabs his bags up.

Karin and Yuzu both walk over and hug him, and Isshin comes over to make it a group hug. Ichigo can't stop them because he's holding onto his bags. Rukia tries to step back and let the family have a moment, but Isshin won't have that. Isshin grabs her by the arm and drags her into the family hug.

When Rukia is drawn into the hug, she's surprised at how much she can feel the love that this family has for one another, and she feels very lucky to be included with all of that love.

When they all pull away, Ichigo is disturbed to see tears on both Karin and Yuzu's faces. He gives them a disgruntled look.

"I have one last request," Ichigo says softly, and his sisters both look up at him wide eyed, hoping that they can do one last thing for their brother.

"What is it, Ichi-ni?" Karin asks, and Ichigo gives them a small smile.

"When I leave here, I don't want to see tears. Can you all smile for me, since this is not a sad occasion? We will definitely see each other again one day." Ichigo tells his sisters who are both wiping the tears from their eyes. Isshin is already smiling, and within moments, his sisters are able to smile for him too.

"Ichigo…we should leave your body here. I have to take my gigai back with me though." Rukia tells him very quietly, and Ichigo shakes his head no.

"Yuzu would freak out. Lets just leave it on the sidewalk." Ichigo whispers, and Rukia gives him a weird look.

"Won't that be just as disturbing for her?" Rukia asks him. Ichigo motions to his father to lean over.

"Where should I leave my body?" Ichigo asks Isshin, and he nods his head.

"Leave it outside, I'll come out and get it in a minute." Isshin tells him. Ichigo nods.

"Alright," Ichigo says, and Rukia nods.

They walk outside and walk out of sight of Ichigo's family's house. Ichigo pops out of his body, and then he pops Rukia out of hers, since she is the only one who knows how to unlock the path to Soul Society. Ichigo picks up Rukia's gigai and they head onto the path, leading to Soul Society.

_Three Years Later…_

"The King is coming to Soul Society!" A dark haired Shinigami lady can hardly believe what she heard from her friend.

"No way! Seriously?" Another Shinigami who was training, stops to stare in wonder.

"It's true!" The girl says.

"I don't believe it!" Another girl responds. Then everyone starts to talk excitedly.

"Everyone shut the fuck up!" Ichigo roars, as he gives his division a look of disgust. Everyone shuts up.

"Captain?" The dark haired Shinigami says in surprise.

"You're not here to gossip, you're here to train!" Ichigo snaps at her, and everyone lowers their heads at his obvious disapproval.

"Ichigo…the King of Soul Society coming here is a very big deal." Rukia tells him, and a few people breathe a sigh of relief. Their captain never takes the same kind of angry tone with his lieutenant, that he just had with them.

"Why? Last I heard, nobody around here has even seen the elusive guy." Ichigo says in a bored voice. "It's certainly no reason to stop with training!" He says in a dangerous voice to his division. Everyone takes the hint and gets back to training, except for Rukia who sighs at his lack of knowledge.

"That's not the point you idiot!" Rukia says, getting a bit testy. "It's natural to be excited that the King is coming here, simply because he hasn't visited here in so long! I've never seen him, and I'm very excited!" Rukia tells him, and Ichigo turns to look at her with surprise. Ichigo sighs. He knows she won't let this argument go until he agrees.

"Alright…I get it, but I don't want to have such a pathetic division when the King gets here, so I still want all these weaklings to train." Ichigo says, and he turns to head back into the offices. His Captain's robe, really suits him, though not as much as his bankai attire.

Soul Society had given Ichigo the position of the Fifth Division Captain, to purge the evil that was associated with that division due to Aizen's manipulative influence. Ichigo did a good job in the two and a half years that he's held his position.

They had him train with Ukitake for half a year to learn the ropes, and then when he was made Captain, Byakuya approved for Rukia to be Ichigo's Lieutenant.

They've only gotten closer and closer as the years passed by, and Ichigo has even been able to convince Rukia to kiss him on several occasions. She usually only ever gave in after she'd had a bit too much to drink, but her kisses have the power to make him unusually happy, so he's constantly trying to get her to go drinking with him after they finish their Shinigami duties each day.

Rukia is completely in love with Ichigo, not that the idiot ever seems to notice, but whenever she's gotten to kiss him, she's been able to sense that his emotions are similar, if not identical to her own.

Ichigo had broached the topic of marriage a year ago, but Rukia had sadly told him that there was no point in even asking her brother since Ichigo isn't nobility. Ichigo hadn't much liked that response, and he tried to stop having such strong feelings for her, but no matter how hard he tries, he only loves her more, with each day that passes.

They've never gone further than kissing and touching a little bit over their robes, but Ichigo imagines what it would be like, all of the time.

"Rukia?" Ichigo says, as he signs some paperwork on his desk, and Rukia looks up as she was organizing the next batch that he'd have to sign.

"What?" Rukia asks him as she meets his eyes.

"When is this famous King supposed to be here?" Ichigo asks and Rukia guffaws at that.

"Do you sleep during the Captain's meetings?" Rukia asks in horror, and Ichigo rolls his eyes. He's not about to admit that at the last Captain's meeting, he fantasized about making love to Rukia, the entire time the meeting was taking place.

"I space out sometimes," Ichigo says in a tight voice.

"Oh my god. You're a lunatic, you know that? If the Captain Commander ever notices, you will not be a happy Captain." Rukia warns him, and he can't help but to grin at her.

"Your worry over me is so endearing…want to go out for a drink after we finish this infernal paperwork?" Ichigo asks hopefully, and Rukia turns her head away as she feels a blush coming on. She wants to drink with him a lot, since it always leads to a hot and sensuous kiss whenever she does.

"We can't. In order to answer your first question, the King is due to arrive here in the next hour. Each Division will go to the First Division Hall to meet the King separately, since there's not enough room for everyone to go at the same time. We will be finished for the day when the hell butterfly comes to tell us it's our turn." Rukia explains, and Ichigo nods his head.

"At least you pay attention during your meetings," Ichigo says with a relieved nod of his head.

"We can't both space out or the entire Division would be totally lost," Rukia mutters, and Ichigo grins at that.

"You really are a magnificent Lieutenant…you take such good care of me." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia blushes.

Ever since Ichigo mentioned that they should think about marriage a year ago, it's been one of the things she thinks about, and imagines the most. Her body tingles with excitement every time she's near him, and her attraction for him is getting more dangerous by the day.

"I've accepted that as my lifelong fate." Rukia whispers, but Ichigo didn't hear her.

"What?" Ichigo asks, since he's sure she just said something under her breath.

"Nothing, Captain!" Rukia says in her fake schoolgirl voice, and Ichigo glares at her.

"You're being insubordinate." Ichigo tells her in a serious tone.

"How so?" Rukia asks, even though she knows the answer.

"Damn it Rukia! I told you three years ago when we left the living world that I couldn't stand that fake voice and I want you to stop using it, around me at the very least. I don't like it when you portray yourself like that." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia tries not to grin. Ichigo can tell that she's amused, though.

"Aye, Captain!" Rukia says as she salutes him. Ichigo drops his pen and stands.

"Keep it up and we're going to be wrestling in a minute," Ichigo warns her. Rukia's eyes widen. They have never wrestled…but it sounds intriguing.

"Ooh, what is the big scary Captain going to do to me? Should I be trembling with fear?" Rukia asks him in a smart ass tone, and she's not prepared for him to jump over his desk and land next to her.

"What do you want the big scary captain to do to you?" Ichigo asks her suggestively, and Rukia can feel a shiver going up her spine at the way he asks it.

Rukia tries to come up with a snappy response, but their banter is cut short by a hell butterfly. Rukia's eyes widen in wonder.

"It's early! The King is already here?" Rukia says, as the butterfly lands on her finger.

Ichigo stares at the thing, and then they realize that the orders are different from what Rukia originally said they were. The butterfly lets them know that only the two of them are supposed to go to the First Division Headquarters, to the Captain Commander's office.

Rukia and Ichigo exchange looks and head outside.

"You all better keep training!" Ichigo snaps at his Division as he and Rukia quickly hurry to the location they were directed to go.

Nothing surprises them more, when they enter the office to see Isshin, Yoruichi, and Urahara all standing in front of the Captain Commander. What's more amazing is that the Captain Commander is on his knees in front of Isshin.

"What the hell?" Ichigo asks right before the shock sets in. His father is in Shinigami robes…and they're a bit different from what Ichigo has seen before, but Ichigo can't hide his shock.

"Is that how you greet your father? I see you haven't changed one bit! Rukia-chan! I've missed you!" Isshin says, and Rukia realizes that Isshin can only be one person, if the Captain Commander is kneeling in front of him.

"I don't believe it." Rukia breathes, and Isshin grins at her.

"I see you've figured it out." Isshin says, but then he realizes the old man is still on his knees. "You may rise." Isshin tells him, and Rukia falls to her knees next. Ichigo gives her a strange look.

"Rukia…what are you doing?" Ichigo asks, and the Captain Commander clears his throat.

"She is being respectful of the King of Soul Society." The Captain Commander informs Ichigo who immediately starts to laugh.

"My old man has you fooled. There is no way that he is the King of Soul Society," Ichigo says, even as his father uses shunpo to arrive at Ichigo's side to deck him. Ichigo's eyes widen in surprise as he finds himself flying into the Captain Commander's office wall.

"I am Immortal Isshin!" His father proclaims.

"You bastard…" Ichigo growls at his father who stands there with his arms crossed and laughing.

"You've gotten soft these past few years that I haven't been kicking your ass," Isshin says with a triumphant look in his eyes.

The Captain Commander's eyes widen in shock as Ichigo jumps to his feet and rushes at his father. Within moments they're trading very vicious punches, before Ichigo suddenly stops.

"Oh yeah! How are Karin and Yuzu?" Ichigo asks, and Isshin smiles.

"They're doing good. They're old enough now that I was able to leave them alone at the house for a few days while I came here to take care of business." Isshin explains, and Ichigo gives him a look of complete confusion.

"What business?" Ichigo asks, and Isshin smiles.

"You'll find out soon enough. For now, you should be aware that nobody was kidding with you. I am in fact the King of Soul Society." Isshin informs Ichigo, who's mouth drops open. Ichigo starts to laugh.

"You can't fool me old man." Ichigo says with a chuckle.

Isshin starts to release his reiatsu, and everyone in the room except for Ichigo is brought to their knees. Ichigo looks at his father in surprise.

"Make no mistake, Ichigo. Your father is in fact the Spirit King." Yoruichi says, and Ichigo gives his father a glare.

"Stop it, nobody but me can even stand in the pressure of your reiatsu," Ichigo says as he glances at Rukia, who is gasping for breath.

"Go ahead and call for Byakuya." Isshin says to the Captain Commander as he seals his power back up so that everyone can be comfortable. The Captain Commander quickly gets a hell butterfly on its was to Byakuya so that he can join the meeting.

"Rukia…stand up!" Ichigo orders her, since he doesn't like her bowing to his father.

"Please rise." Isshin says next, because he notices his son is agitated over Rukia.

"I can hardly believe it…" Rukia's face shows her shock. She never imagined that she had fallen in love with…the son of the King!

_He's nobility!_

"Ichigo, you should be aware that you will become the next Captain Commander of Soul Society, once the position is open." Isshin tells Ichigo, and Rukia watches Ichigo's eyes bulge.

"Me?" Ichigo says in surprise.

"Yes," Isshin confirms, and Ichigo just blinks.

"Why in the hell didn't I know about this all?" Ichigo demands, and Isshin laughs.

"I wanted you to enjoy the benefits of a normal life before the duties of nobility were forced down your throat." Isshin explains, but Ichigo just shakes his head as if he doesn't understand.

"That makes no sense!" Ichigo hisses at his father, but Isshin just keeps smiling. There is a knock on the door, and Byakuya enters the room.

"Finally, the real show begins," Yoruichi says as she rubs her hands together in anticipation. Urahara can't help but smile.

"They won't know what hit them," Urahara says, as he too is excited to see the couple's reaction to the real reason for Isshin's visit.

When Byakuya goes to his knees, Ichigo starts to laugh…it's like a dream come true to see Byakuya so submissive. Rukia pinches Ichigo's arm. Byakuya doesn't seem affected by Ichigo's reaction though.

"Please rise." Isshin says, and Byakuya stands.

"Ni-sama…you knew?" Rukia says in a squeak.

"The shoulder ornament makes it impossible not to know." Byakuya answers, and Rukia just nods her head in a stupor.

"Ichigo…you may not be aware of this, but in noble families, like ours, marriages are arranged." Isshin says, and Ichigo scowls at his father.

"Like I'd let you do that." Ichigo says in a hard voice as he crosses his arms.

"It's already done." Isshin tells him, and Ichigo's eyes widen in anger.

"What did you say?" Ichigo asks in a dangerous voice.

"During the Winter War a few years ago, I arranged your marriage." Isshin informs Ichigo.

He's so astounded that he can't even begin to clearly voice the thoughts running through his head.

_What the fuck…who do you think you are? Spirit King or not, there is no way in hell I'd let you arrange my marriage! You raised me normally, what right do you have to make me act like nobility now?!_

"And I agreed." Byakuya says, and Ichigo's eyes widen at that statement. Rukia's face is showing identical shock.

"You mean…you arranged a marriage for me…and Ichigo?" Rukia's voice is a high pitched squeak, very unlike her usual voice.

"She's so smart…she really is the perfect wife for you, don't you agree, Ichigo?" Isshin asks, as Ichigo turns bright red.

"You…you!" Ichigo can hardly speak.

"You brought up marriage last year," Rukia reminds Ichigo, who needed no reminding, he remembers clearly.

"He did?! I didn't think he had it in him!" Urahara says with a shit grin on his face.

"Shut up, Rukia!" Ichigo says as he can't stop blushing.

"This is better than I imagined!" Yoruichi says with a big satisfied smile.

"What in the hell are you doing here anyways?" Ichigo asks and then his face shows his surprise. "Weren't you exiled?" Ichigo asks, and Urahara grins.

"I've been pardoned by the King himself. Yoruichi will reclaim control of the Second Division, and I will take one of the other Captain's positions, that are still available." Urahara says, and Ichigo just gapes some more. Ichigo looks at Rukia, and suddenly he realizes that there is nothing to stop them from being together.

"I'm finding this all a bit hard to believe…" Ichigo mutters, and Isshin grins.

"That doesn't matter, you and Rukia-chan will be married for sure." Isshin assures Ichigo, who can't help but to smile a little bit. He so badly wants to hug Rukia that he decides to throw away all protocol and do just that.

Rukia finds herself yanked up off the ground and tight in Ichigo's arms as he holds her close.

"I can live with that…and be very happy," Ichigo says in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear him. Rukia blushes and feels that tingles of excitement flood her body that she gets whenever she's this close to him. Ichigo keeps holding her and he doesn't let go.

"Why don't the two of you go out and celebrate? I'll be by your Headquarters in the morning to meet your Division." Isshin tells them and Ichigo wastes no time, and uses shunpo to get Rukia to someplace private.

"Ichigo…we can actually get married!" Rukia's voice sounds happily amazed.

Ichigo crushes her lips against his own. It's the first kiss they've shared without being drunk.

_I always felt it in my heart, that you were the only woman I could be happily married to, and this is my dream come true. _

_I guess being a noble does have its benefits!_


	10. As Requested: Great Love

**A/N-I had a request to do a sequel to chapter 7 and so here it is! It's dedicated to the one that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Great Love_

Tatsuki feels horrible as she approaches her best friend for lunch.

"Orihime?" Tatsuki says as she walks over.

"Tatsuki-chan!" Inoue says with a big smile as she puts something that must surely be inedible to anybody else in her mouth.

"I need to talk to you for a minute." Tatsuki says, with a regretful look in her eyes.

"Sure." Inoue stands and Tatsuki kicks Chizuru as she starts to reach her hand out to feel up Inoue's leg. Tatsuki leads Inoue away from the other girls, and takes a deep breath.

"Orihime…I want to apologize to you." Tatsuki says, as she bites her lip. Inoue gives her a very confused expression.

"Why, Tatsuki-chan?" Inoue asks as she studies her best friend's face.

"Because I inadvertently…hooked Kuchiki-san and Ichigo up as a couple." Tatsuki says in a low voice, and Inoue's eyes widen.

"They're together? Really?" Inoue says with her eyes all big and wide.

"I'm pretty sure they are from what they said to each other in front of me." Tatsuki says as she stares at the ground.

"It's okay!" Inoue says with a cheerful voice, even though her eyes give away her true feelings.

"I'm sorry…" Tatsuki whispers, since she can't stand to see the pain in her friend's eyes.

"It's not your fault Tatsuki-chan. It would have happened one way or another. What exactly happened?" Inoue asks as she blinks quickly, willing the tears not to spill.

"I asked Ichigo what Kuchiki-san was to him, and if she was a friend like me. He didn't answer me right away, he looked pretty cornered, actually. I saw Kuchiki-san approaching, but then Ichigo began to answer me, and I really wanted to know! He said she's more important to him than anyone. Kuchiki-san overheard him, and she told him she feels the same way about him. I came running here right after that." Tatsuki admits, and she keeps her gaze on the ground as she does so, to avoid seeing the heart wrenching pain in her friend's eyes.

"I see. They really are…together." Inoue says in a whisper as she stares at the ground. She sees the teardrops falling, and so she squeezes her eyes shut, as tightly as she can for a few moments before she opens them. She sniffles, and she senses Tatsuki's reaction to that.

"I never meant to make you cry…" Tatsuki says in a tight voice. Inoue shakes her head no.

She doesn't want to tell Tatsuki that she can sense where Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san are at. She can sense that they are touching, their reiatsu is _that_ clear to her.

"I'm not upset with you at all, Tatsuki-chan. I promise!" Inoue says, and Tatsuki's eye soften up.

"Thank you…I promise, I'll do whatever I have to do, to make this up to you. I'll even take you out for ice cream after school!" Tatsuki says, and Inoue smiles in spite of herself.

_I truly am lucky to have such a wonderful friend. I really don't deserve her after the way I chose to say my final goodbye to Kurosaki-kun rather than her. Tatsuki's been there for me for so long._

"I can't wait for ice cream!" Inoue says as she wipes her face, clearing away the tears.

Lunch seems to pass by way too quickly. Neither Inoue or Tatsuki fail to notice just how happy Rukia and Ichigo look when they enter the classroom, or how close to one another they're standing. Though they've always been close to each other or next to each other, there is even less distance between them today.

Inoue also notices that throughout the remainder of the afternoon, the pair keep exchanging knowing glances at one another.

_I bet they've already kissed. They are a couple for sure, this time._

Inoue tries not to think about that, and instead starts to think about what kind of concoction she'll order at the ice cream shop.

Tatsuki lets out a depressed sigh, every time she sees Ichigo and Rukia silently communicate with each other through their eyes. It drives her nuts that her friend has to watch it firsthand as well.

It's not like she ever thought Ichigo would fall head over heels in love with her friend, but she had always thought he was the perfect guy to protect and look out for her, since he understood the difficulties of having bright colored hair. She had hoped that he would develop feelings for Orihime.

That is not the case as things currently stand.

_Ichigo never ogled Orihime, he wasn't even especially nice or considerate around her…but around Kuchiki-san, he really has been different. It's like they go off into their own world. With that kind of chemistry, Orihime never stood a chance._

When classes finally end, most of the students let out a collective sigh of relief. Everyone is sick of being in the classroom. Rukia and Ichigo are no exception, they walk out just ahead of Tatsuki and Inoue, and the girls are able to hear their conversation quite perfectly, no matter how much they don't really want to.

"Ichigo, I don't want to go straight back to your house. We should go for a walk, since it's so sunny and beautiful outside." Rukia says to him, as she smiles and glances up.

"Okay, I don't mind. There's a chocolate shop I wouldn't mind taking you to." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia's smile grows even bigger.

"That sounds like a plan!" Rukia says excitedly.

"Then we won't have to deal with my family until dinnertime." Ichigo says, and Rukia starts to laugh.

"I love your family." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo scoffs.

"Well, they annoy the hell out of me." Ichigo's voice sounds serious, but Rukia just laughs again.

"This is _me_ you're talking to Ichigo. I know the truth," Rukia tells him, and Ichigo blushes so hard that the girls behind him notice.

"Maybe now I can have happy hands?" Ichigo asks hopefully, and Rukia laughs.

"If you're lucky." Rukia teases, and then they pick up their pace, leaving Inoue and Tatsuki behind. Tatsuki glances at Inoue, who is staring at the floor.

"I'm really sorry!" Tatsuki says again.

"It's okay, it just confirms what you said earlier." Inoue says, and she's pleased that she's able to hold back her tears this time.

"I still feel really bad." Tatsuki says, and Inoue smiles for her friend.

"It's really okay!" Inoue says, even as the truth dawns on her very clearly.

_Even if it's not my own, it's the start of a very great love._


	11. As Requested: Coming Clean

**A/N- Takes place after Aizen's death. Rukia has still never seen Ichigo's mask. This was done by request and is dedicated to the one that requested it, please enjoy! **

_Coming Clean_

Ichigo stares into Rukia's big blue eyes, and he gets a bit scared at what he sees there.

_Is this finally it? The moment we say everything that we've always kept hidden?_

Ichigo takes a deep breath. He can't move, and he can't blink, because her eyes have made it impossible for him to do anything other than just stare at her.

Rukia stares into Ichigo's eyes, and she can see the fear. It makes her hesitate, and reconsider her earlier plan. After staring into his eyes for nearly a minute, she finally sighs, and it's a sigh of exasperation.

_He's still not ready to hear it. I should have known. I've been ready since I almost died fighting against Aaroniero Arruruerie. How much longer will I be forced to wait?_

Rukia crosses her arms and looks away for a moment before she stands with her back to Ichigo.

Ichigo doesn't know what to think. He's a bit disappointed that she's no longer on the bed, sitting next to him, staring at him with that intense expression that makes him believe something exciting is about to happen.

"What were you going to say?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia keeps her back to him, since she can't look him in the eyes when she responds. She clenches her fists.

"Nothing at all, just forget about it." Rukia says, with her voice low. She can hear the trembling in her voice, and she hopes Ichigo didn't hear it too.

"It didn't look like you were going to say nothing." Ichigo mutters as he looks towards the window. Yes, he had been scared but now he's disappointed.

"It's not like you're even capable of having a meaningful and deep conversation anyways!" Rukia snaps and she starts to walk towards his bedroom door, but Ichigo flies out of the bed and grabs her arm to spin her around. He gets right in her face.

"What in the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ichigo yells, a bit annoyed that she would go that far.

"See! Even the words are foreign to you!" Rukia says loudly before she pinches his arm to make him release her. Ichigo frowns and lets go of her, and when she turns to walk away, he runs around in front of her, and blocks her.

"You're the one who can't just say what in the hell was on your mind!" Ichigo growls as he crosses his arms, and gives her a long look of annoyance. Rukia glares at him.

_How could I? You were looking like you wanted to run for the hills!_

"I would say it if I thought I could get through to you!" Rukia yells, and then her eyes widen, and she turns around quickly to face the bed, so that he doesn't see her blush.

"Get through to me…what?" Ichigo asks, waiting for her to respond.

"Forget it." Rukia says, a bit mortified that she slipped up that much.

"So there's something you want to say, but you don't think you can get through to me?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia just can't stop blushing.

"You could put it that way," Rukia finally mutters, and she is unhappy with how things are going, and so she quickly turns and sidesteps Ichigo to try and run past him and out of the room, but Ichigo is too quick.

He snags her as she tries to run past him and he picks her up and tosses her over onto the bed. Rukia lands with a squeal on her ass and looks up at him.

"I won't let you out of here until you say it. If I have to sit on you to keep you put, I will." Ichigo threatens, and Rukia stares at him in shock at those words.

She crosses her arms and starts to scoff, but Ichigo begins to advance towards her and so she quickly puts her leg out in preparation to kick him if he even _tries_ to sit on her.

"Don't even think about it!" Rukia tells him as she gives him a threatening look. Ichigo doesn't look intimidated, and that's not good.

"Go on, Rukia. I'm all yours." Ichigo says, and then he blushes a little bit, and Rukia does too. "I mean…I'm listening to whatever it is you want to say, even if it's deep." Ichigo says, feeling stupid.

Rukia realizes that it really is the perfect time, and she hopes that was a Freudian Slip on his part. She takes a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves.

"Well, I was thinking about us." Rukia says, softly, and Ichigo's eyes widen. He hesitantly steps forward and sits down on the bed next to her.

"What about us?" Ichigo asks, feeling extremely nervous, since he has no idea what will come out of her mouth next. She's always such a mystery.

"You know…us." Rukia says, and her voice is begging him to figure it out on his own. Ichigo stares at her, and he can see it in her eyes, exactly what she's trying to say.

"There's something you should know…before we talk about that." Ichigo says, as he looks away from her. Rukia stares at him. She almost feels like she just got shot down, but she decides to play along, rather than get upset.

"Oh really?" Rukia says, wondering what it is he's about to say. She's certain he cares for her as much as she cares for him!

"It's about me. I have a power that I haven't ever really discussed with you or shown you." Ichigo says, in a low voice. "You should really know about it before we discuss…us." Ichigo says, and Rukia can tell it's hard for him to say that, and so she takes a deep breath.

"Okay, well tell me then." Rukia says, eager to get on to the more important issue of the two of them, being together.

"Remember when you saw Hirako fight Grimmjow?" Ichigo says, and Rukia nods her head slowly.

"He saved my life." Rukia reminds Ichigo. "It's not like I could forget that so easily." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo nods.

"Do you remember the mask that he brought out, to fight against Grimmjow?" Ichigo asks next, and Rukia nods. She had been so shocked when she'd seen it, and she'd spent a lot of time wondering who they were, and why Ichigo was around them.

"I remember all of it." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo takes a deep breath.

"I have that ability, too." Ichigo whispers, and Rukia just looks at him. She had already figured as much.

"I really don't understand what that has to do with us though." Rukia says, and Ichigo jerks his head to stare at her.

"What?" Ichigo croaks.

"That ability doesn't change anything. It's not like you're a monster." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo just starts to smile at her.

"Well…it makes me feel a lot more comfortable about us, knowing that you know the truth." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia smiles back at him.

"Did you really think something like that could drive me away from you? You just don't understand anything, idiot!" Rukia says, starting out soft, but getting stronger as she goes on.

Ichigo gives her a look of adoring amazement. Then he starts to grin, and he stares her right in the eyes when he answers.

"Honestly…no. I couldn't get rid of you if I tried." Ichigo says, and Rukia starts to look indignant, but Ichigo grabs her by the back of the neck and pulls her in to kiss her. When he pulls away, he smiles at her, and makes everything okay. "Not that I'd ever try to."

Rukia kisses him this time and she wraps her arms around him.

_No, but if coming clean made you feel better, then I'm glad you did it. _


	12. As Requested: Immortal Isshin 2

**A/N- I had more than one request to continue this story, and so here you are! It's dedicated to the ones who asked for it, please enjoy!**

_Immortal Isshin 2 _

"Lieutenant Kuchiki!" Kira's voice causes Rukia to turn around.

"What is it?" Rukia asks him curiously, and he looks at her with questioning eyes.

"Is it true, that you got to see the Spirit King, yesterday?" Kira asks with wide eyes. Rukia just stares at him a moment.

"What, you didn't get to?" Rukia asks, and Kira shakes his head no.

"No, we were suddenly informed that everything had been postponed a day, but the Captain Commander verified that he's actually been here since yesterday." Kira tells her, and Rukia grins.

"So you'll get to meet him today." Rukia says, and Kira frowns at her.

"I don't understand why you got to meet him, and I didn't." Kira says, contemplatively.

"The answer may not be clear right now, but I'm sure you'll begin to understand, very soon." Rukia tells him, before she hurries to meet Ichigo in their office.

She is running late, but since he's in love with her, maybe he won't throw a fit. Rukia hurries to the Fifth Division offices, and when she walks inside, she stops dead in her tracks. Ichigo shoots her a small glare, and Rukia falls to her knees when she realizes Isshin is in the room.

"Quit doing that, Rukia!" Ichigo snaps, and Isshin starts to laugh.

"Rukia-chan, please rise." Isshin smirks at his son, and Ichigo crosses his arms.

Rukia stands and hurries over to Ichigo who still looks a bit annoyed with her.

"Rukia, you're late." Ichigo informs her, and she scowls at him.

"Maybe that's because someone kept me up later than usual." Rukia says, and Ichigo turns red, causing Isshin to chuckle in amusement.

"That's my boy!" Isshin says, and Ichigo turns brighter.

"Nothing happened!" Ichigo sputters, and Rukia raises an eyebrow. Isshin can't help but to keep laughing as Rukia torments his son.

"You call that nothing?" Rukia asks Ichigo, and he claps a hand over her mouth.

"Shut the hell up!" Ichigo hisses in her ear, and Isshin chuckles some more.

"Why should I? You were the one upset that I was just a tiny bit late." Rukia points out, and Ichigo groans.

"She has a point son, maybe you should cut her some slack if you kept her awake later than she's used to." Isshin says, and Ichigo glares at his father. He sees Rukia's amused grin, and he sighs.

"I'm glad this amuses you both." Ichigo grumbles and Isshin winks at Rukia.

"I was actually held up on the way here by Kira. He told me that he didn't get to meet the King yesterday. I was pretty surprised." Rukia says, and Isshin grins.

"I decided to put it off a day so that the two of you could be with me when I met the other Twelve Divisions. It's time for you to be known as the son of the King of Soul Society. We will of course be announcing your future wedded bliss to Rukia-chan as well." Isshin explains, and Ichigo feels a sense of dread that he'll be the center of attention along with Rukia and his father.

"Fine." Ichigo says with a sigh.

"Now let me go and see your Division, Ichigo." Isshin says, and they head for the doors.

When the three step outside, most of the members of the Division stop when they realize who has joined their Captain and Lieutenant outside.

"The King of Soul Society is in front of you!" Rukia shouts at the Division, and everyone begins dropping to their knees. Hardly anybody is bold enough to raise their head without permission.

"Ichigo...I see you have your work cut out for you with this bunch. At least you have Rukia-chan." Isshin says, and the entire Fifth Division cringes at the King's criticism.

"I keep making them train...but progress is very slow. It's quite irritating, actually." Ichigo grumbles and Rukia glares at him.

"Not everyone can develop at the phenomenal rate that you did, Ichigo." Rukia tells him, even as she remembers how it took her years to get to the level she's at now.

"All they need to do is train more seriously. Ichigo, you should just fight them yourself, and force them to learn. Keep cutting them, until their only choice is to improve." Isshin says, earning a collective terrified gasp from the entire Fifth Division. Not one of his subordinates ever wants to cross swords with their Captain, or Lieutenant for that matter.

"Unfortunately, my own duties get in the way of me training closely with my squad. Why in the hell does a Captain have to do so much paperwork anyways? I get so sick of it." Ichigo grumbles, and Isshin grins.

"If you can come up with a better way of running things, be my guest. I don't mess with those kinds of trivial matters." Isshin says, and Ichigo rolls his eyes.

"How convenient for you...Sire." Ichigo says it with attitude, and most of his Division sucks in their breath to see if he will be punished by the King.

"Oh, now you're ashamed to be my son?" Isshin says with a raised eyebrow and Ichigo scowls as the entire Fifth Division gasps at the shock of hearing their Captain Kurosaki is the son of the Spirit King.

"Always." Ichigo answers his father, and Isshin puts his hand on his hilt. The members of Ichigo's division, start to exchange glances. They had no idea that their Captain was the son of the Spirit King, and they're all shocked.

"What do you say, Ichigo? Want to show them some real power?" Isshin asks, and Rukia slaps her forehead with her hand.

_Are they barbarians?! _

"We should definitely show them a real fight," Ichigo says with a grin as he puts a hand on Zangetsu.

The reiatsu and tension begins to build as everyone in the Fifth Division is mesmerized by the sight of two such powerful warriors in front of them.

Rukia smartly jumps back, putting as much distance between herself and this fight as possible, while still being able to watch it. Several members of her division are now unable to lift their foreheads off of the ground, the spiritual pressure is just that intense. Rukia watches as Ichigo and his father really go at it and clash against one another in battle. Isshin grins.

"You're even better than I thought you were!" Isshin says, rather proudly, and Ichigo lets out a big smile.

"What in hell did you expect?" Ichigo asks as he swings again.

Rukia lets out a sigh as a lot of members of her division go flying outside of the Fifth Division gate due to the massive pressure Ichigo and his father are releasing.

"Hey! Maybe you two should do that somewhere else, before any more members of our division go flying away like leaves!" Rukia shouts loudly, and neither man stops.

Rukia growls and pulls out her zanpakutou. A few members of the division, still present, can't take their eyes off of Rukia as she decides to put a halt to the men's actions for herself.

"Lieutenant Kuchiki!" One girl shouts in fear for Rukia, as she holds on to the trunk of a tree for dear life.

"Dance...Sode No Shirayuki. Second Dance, White Ripple!" Rukia concentrates so that both of their swords get stuck in her ice.

"What the hell Rukia?!" Ichigo shouts angrily, as he prepares to blow away the ice.

Rukia lets out a piercing whistle, and Ichigo and Isshin both stare at her in surprise.

"This is not the time, or the place for you two lunatics to be fighting! Half of our Division was blown away from your reiatsu alone!" Rukia shouts, shaking her zanpakutou at them. Isshin grins and blows away the ice before sheathing his zanpakutou.

"I can never turn down a request from a pretty lady," Isshin says, and Ichigo glares at him. The members of the Division who are still around, all look very relieved at Isshin's decision, and Rukia breathes a sigh of relief two.

"How come you always get all the good action?!" Kenpachi catapults over the Fifth Division gate, and his eyes widen when he sees Isshin. Rukia watches with fascination as Captain Zaraki actually seems unsure of himself.

"Yah-ho! Icchy!" Yachiru's head pops up over Kenpachi's left shoulder.

"Kenpachi. What the hell?" Ichigo asks, and Kenpachi can only stare at Isshin.

"Why aren't you on your knees, Captain?" Isshin asks with a raised eyebrow.

"I was thinking about asking you if you wanted to fight, but then I figured, you being nobility and all, would just get offended by it." Kenpachi says in a very casual voice.

Everyone holds their breath as Isshin stares down Kenpachi, and waits for him to show his respect. Kenpachi just stands there, with Yachiru looking back and forth between Kenpachi, Isshin, and Ichigo. Isshin starts to release his reiatsu, and Yachiru falls right off Kenpachi's back, face first, into the ground. Isshin keeps going, and Rukia falls to her knees, which makes Ichigo quickly shoot over to where she's at to grab her up in his arms, and still Kenpachi doesn't go down.

Isshin doesn't stop though, he keeps right on building up his reiatsu until even Ichigo starts to feel a little bit dizzy, and finally Kenpachi sinks to his knees.

"You are..." Isshin's eyes widen. He knows who this man is...his younger brother!

"Pops?" Ichigo calls out, as he runs Rukia over to his father's side. Ichigo looks at his father who is just gaping at Kenpachi who is on his knees.

"This is my younger brother." Isshin says softly, and Ichigo practically drops Rukia at the shock of those words.

"What?!" Ichigo roars, and Isshin looks down. Ichigo doesn't lose his flabbergasted expression.

"My mother brought him to Soul Society as a small child, but then he suddenly vanished. We always thought a hollow somehow snagged him, since we could never locate his reiatsu. We searched for years, and never found any trace of him! I only know, because my reiatsu was starting to affect you, Ichigo. Only a direct relative, could keep from falling to their face in the amount of reiatsu I just released." Isshin stares at Kenpachi, and he wishes he had paid closer attention to this man during the winter war.

"So you're saying...I'm Ichigo's uncle?" Kenpachi says with a grin, and Isshin seals his reiatsu since Rukia's eyes are looking totally dilated due to getting a little high from his reiatsu.

"This is fucked up." Ichigo grumbles, even as some of his Division seems to be straggling back through the Fifth Division gate. Everyone who appears, looks pretty sore from being tossed like rag dolls due to the noble reiatsu of their Captain and the King.

"Ken-chan is a noble!" Yachiru says with a grin as she hops back up onto his shoulder.

"Who is this adorable Shinigami?" Isshin asks as she eyes Yachiru. He knows she isn't related due to the fact that she fell to her face, but even so, she seems to be abnormally strong, particularly for her age and size.

"I am Kusajishi Yachiru, Eleventh Division Lieutenant!" Yachiru says, reminding Ichigo of the first time he had been introduced to her, she had answered almost identically back then, except this time she's on Kenpachi's shoulder saying it, and not standing on the ground.

"What kind of brothers would we be if we never fought each other, though?" Kenpachi asks as he puts his hand on the hilt of his zanpakutou.

"Not here!" Rukia shouts in Ichigo's arms, and Isshin starts to chuckle at Rukia's frantic voice.

"Well first, tell me what name you go by, Kenpachi." Isshin tells his brother.

"Zaraki Kenpachi." Kenpachi says, and he lets go of his zanpakutou, realizing that they really should probably fight elsewhere. Especially with the way Kuchiki Rukia is struggling in Ichigo's arms to make sure they pay attention to her.

"Well I'd like you, Yachiru, Ichigo, and Rukia to all stand by me then, as I meet the rest of the Divisions. I also would like to meet your Division next. Rukia, Ichigo, you should come along," Isshin says. Rukia pinches Ichigo to make him set her down, and he does so, though reluctantly.

"And what's your name?" Kenpachi asks Isshin, who grins at him and chuckles a bit.

"My bad...I should have already told you. I've been using the name Kurosaki Isshin, for quite awhile now." Isshin explains, and Yachiru giggles.

"Ken-chan and Icchy are related!" Yachiru seems to be tickled pink by this fact, and Ichigo has a hard time believing it himself. He has always thought Kenpachi was a fearsome guy. At least now, Ichigo can understand why.

"Ichigo, did you tell him the good news yet?" Isshin asks, and Ichigo glares at him.

"You've been here the whole time, do you remember me telling him anything?" Ichigo asks his father in a smart ass tone. Isshin is on Ichigo in a second, and he knees him in the back. Ichigo manages not to lose hold of Rukia even as he stumbles forward.

"What good news?" Yachiru asks with curiosity.

"These two are getting married!" Isshin says quite happily.

"Married huh? That's not for me." Kenpachi says, and Isshin grins at him.

"You never know when the right one will pop into your life," Isshin says in a knowledgeable voice.

"Never thought the day would come when I found out I was of noble blood though either," Kenpachi says as he scratches his neck.

When the group arrives in the Eleventh Division, Isshin seems much more impressed with Kenpachi's underlings than he had been with Ichigo's underlings.

"Most impressive, Kenpachi." Isshin says with a pleased nod of his head as he notes the strength in Kenpachi's Division. "You could learn a few things from him, Ichigo." Isshin says, and Ichigo sneers at that comment, but nobody notices.

Ichigo doesn't enjoy the day at all. Everyone kept staring at him, Rukia, his father, and Kenpachi, no matter where they go. The only time Ichigo really didn't mind the fuss was when they visited the Thirteenth Division. Isshin took to Ukitake, immediately. The Fourth Division, wasn't as bad as some of the others, either. Captain Unohana is good at making people feel comfortable. Ichigo supposes it's due to her constantly healing people.

Ichigo and Rukia are finally excused so that Kenpachi and Isshin can go and have their battle.

"I need a drink." Ichigo says, as he watches his father and Kenpachi disappear from their sights. Rukia sighs.

"I could use one too. I know a place where we won't be stared at, but it's in Rukongai." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo quickly nods his head yes.

"I don't care where it is, so long as we don't get stared at. Do we need to change out of our Shinigami robes?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia quickly nods her head yes.

"Though we should take our zanpakutous with us." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo nods his head.

They hurry to change into normal clothes, and Rukia attaches her sheath with Sode No Shirayuki to her kimono. Ichigo wears his red beads, and wears Zangetsu on his back, even as he wears clothes of a commoner. Their zanpakutous may give them away, but hopefully they'll be left alone to enjoy the evening.

They hear what sounds like an explosion, and the ground shaking, from what is probably his father and Kenpachi's fight going on.

"I cannot believe Captain Zaraki is your uncle. It's really something I would have never in a million years, expected." Rukia tells Ichigo as they leave the Court of Pure Souls, and enter Rukongai.

"If you think you're surprised, think about how I feel! I always wondered how someone could be so damned strong." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia winks at him.

"Well, at least I understand why you were so different from other humans. I spent a lot of time beating myself up over what happened the first night I ever stepped foot in your house." Rukia tells him.

Ichigo understands why she'd feel that way, but he's glad that everything happened the way that it did, and he's told her that, countless times.

Rukia moves at a fast pace, and there are certain areas, she uses shunpo to pass, simply because they're areas known for violence. She's in the mood to drink, not fight.

When they arrive at the place that Rukia was telling him about, Ichigo looks surprised. There's nobody else there, and it's an old woman behind the counter.

"How come you never brought me here before?" Ichigo asks, since he's delighted with the privacy.

"Because normally, I don't want to go this far, just to drink." Rukia explains, but Ichigo thinks he'll be making this his favorite place. They head over to the counter, and Ichigo tells the woman to keep them coming.

Before long, they're both hopelessly drunk. Ichigo overpays by quite a bit and tells the old woman to keep the change.

"I want to take my fiancé somewhere private." Ichigo says, in a drunken slur as he grabs Rukia up in his arms and begins to nuzzle her cheek with his own.

Rukia lets out a happy, breathless sigh, and Ichigo flies off at top speed towards his Captain's sleeping quarters. He yanks her zanpakutou off of her along with his own, and drops them on the ground. He tosses Rukia into the bed, and they quickly get to making out.

They're aggressive, passionate, and uninhibited. Ichigo has Rukia's kimono off in no time at all.

Ichigo can't stop touching her, can't stop staring at her, and he certainly can't stop kissing her, all over her face, neck, chest, and stomach.

Then he goes lower. Because he's drunk, he goes completely wild, until he makes Rukia get so noisy, the rest of their squad is sure to hear them. Ichigo slides back up and gives her a half lidded look, filled with desire.

"Ichigo…" Rukia says it in a way that lets him know she's all fired up, and he leans down to whisper in her ear.

"Forever Rukia…forever." Ichigo tells her in a husky voice, before he finally makes love to her. Neither one of them can get enough of the other as their hands slide around each other's bodies in an intoxicated frenzy.

Ichigo gets totally lost in the pleasure that making love to her brings him, until they both are moaning in unison, finding their release. Ichigo draws Rukia close to him, and closes his eyes. Rukia falls asleep with her head on his chest, and his arms around her, completely naked.

When they wake up, it's to Isshin laughing his ass off as he crosses his arms and looks down at them.

"I guess we should probably hurry with the wedding, seeing as how you two are already acting like you're married!" Isshin says and Ichigo's eyes widen in anger.

"Get out of here…now!" Ichigo roars it so loudly that even the Sixth Division hears him. Isshin backs out of the room, still smirking at the pair.

"When is he going back to the living world?" Rukia asks as she blushes from being caught in Ichigo's arms like that.

"I'll kick his ass through the Senkai gate today, if he doesn't go willingly!" Ichigo growls as he lets go of Rukia and gets out of bed.

Her eyes widen at the sight of him, fully naked in the daylight. She can't help but think of how magnificent he is, and when he glances at her, he catches her staring, and he blushes. Rukia just gives him a blissfully happy smile.

_My prince!_


	13. As Requested: A Hollow Can Love

**_A/N- This is a continuation from Going After Rukia (chapter 2 and chapter 8), done by request. It is dedicated to the person that requested it, and also to Oblivious, for the use of his character, _Esteban Gobernadorro_. Please enjoy!_**

_A Hollow Can Love_

When Ichigo and Rukia arrive home from spending two days at the hotel, (yes, Isshin called and got them an extra day, and the couple appreciated that) Isshin and his sisters welcomed them with smiles.

"It's weird that I'm married, and still living with my family." Ichigo says, as he walks through the front door.

"You're still in school too, Ichi-ni. I would have never thought this would happen, if you would have asked me one, or two years ago." Karin says in response, and Isshin gives them a big grin.

"So…how did you enjoy the hotel? Was it nice?" Isshin asks, and Rukia beams at him.

"It was lovely! I especially enjoyed the hot tub!" Rukia tells him, and Isshin winks at her.

"And how about the lotion, did you get some use out of that?" Isshin asks, and the couple turns bright red.

Ichigo does not want his father knowing that Rukia poured that damned stuff all over his body and insisted on licking every drop off of him. She had kept telling him that Ichigo tastes good on Ichigo.

It had driven Ichigo a little crazy, how much she had tortured him, but they had made love so many times in two days, that he didn't care how much she tortured him, so long as he made love to her in the end.

She had especially gotten excited when she'd dripped the stuff on his ass, and she had not only licked his ass, but she also nibbled on it a lot too.

The first time was the only time that she had been docile too, once the initial shock of what sex was had been processed in her brain, she immediately wanted to try again, except she had wanted to be more in charge.

Ichigo had been more than happy to comply with whatever she wished, after the first time, because he was glad she wanted to try it again after the first time. He had climaxed so quickly it had been mortifying. Rukia had seemed so pleased though, and she had kissed him, and Ichigo loves remembering her words afterwards, because they really made him feel better.

_I make you feel that good, do I?_

He could tell, that she liked that immensely. She wasn't stupid, she completely realized that she held a certain power over him, and she hadn't hesitated to take advantage of that fact, one bit.

He shouldn't have been surprised, but he still was, when she got a thrill out of spanking his bare ass. He also had sworn her to secrecy on that bit of information, because he would want to take her to another country if any of his friends found out that he received spankings from Rukia before they made love several times over the past two days.

He had also made her promise not to do that when his family is around. She wasn't exactly gentle about it either, and she liked it best when she made him lay his middle over her lap. He had hoped to god that nobody had heard them outside of their room.

"Um, it accidentally spilled, and so we didn't get to use it." Ichigo lies, and Isshin can tell his son is lying, but he doesn't call him on it. After all, the girls are present.

"Thank you for getting us the extra night there," Rukia tells Isshin, and he smiles hugely at her.

"You only get married once!" Isshin says, and Rukia smiles and nods.

"Except in our case, where we got married twice in a row," Ichigo mutters, and Rukia laughs.

"I suddenly feel so old…my oldest son, has officially become a man." Isshin says in a sad voice, and Ichigo blushes furiously.

"Shut up!" Ichigo growls, and Rukia laughs again.

"We should go put our stuff in your room." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo blushes again. They're back to sharing the same bedroom again, except this time, she'll no longer sleep in his closet.

Ichigo had learned over the past two nights that he loves sleeping with Rukia. Sleeping is much easier with her at his side, since her very presence brings a calm and happy feeling to his entire soul.

Isshin chuckles as they head upstairs, and he for one is thrilled that Rukia-chan and Ichigo have finally tied the knot. He knows from loving Masaki that it's never a good idea to just keep holding off, or holding back. If you find a wonderful love, you should grab hold of it, and never let go.

When they enter Ichigo's room, Ichigo is shocked to find his bed is gone, and in its place is a bed for two. His room was already small, and it just seems smaller with the bigger bed, but Ichigo likes the fact that they have a new bed for their marriage to start with. He doesn't really need the extra walking space either.

Rukia notices that spare Shinigami robes have been left in Ichigo's room for her, and she's glad to see them, since it had been a bit embarrassing when she had to go to hollow alerts in between making love with Ichigo the past few days. Rukia just had to keep reminding herself that normal people couldn't see her in the skimpy white dress that she'd been wearing.

Rukia jumps onto the bed and bounces on it for a second, and then she lets out a squawk of surprise when someone raps on Ichigo's window. Rukia looks out to see Esteban Gobernadorro hanging out, right by Ichigo's window. Ichigo looks over, and he flinches at the sight of Esteban in his window too. He hurries over to the window to open it.

Esteban hops in and looks around the room, and then looks at Ichigo.

"So this is where you live." Esteban says casually as he waits for Ichigo to respond. Ichigo is taking deep breaths, and he really doesn't like that he has to spell this fact out for anyone but…

"Don't ever come to my window like that again. Throw pebbles at my window like a normal person, because if you catch me and Rukia in the middle of…stuff, I'm going to be really pissed off!" Ichigo says in a low voice, to get his point across. Esteban rolls his eyes.

"Alright, I get it, jeez. I figured you two already had enough of that, since every time I walked past your hotel room I could hear the two of you getting it on, and let me tell you, from a listening standpoint, it was really fucking hilarious!" Esteban says, successfully managing to get Ichigo to turn purple during his little speech.

"You did what?!" Ichigo roars at the former Espada, and Esteban just laughs some more.

"I had no idea that a Shinigami could be so amusing. I particularly liked how she spanked your-" Esteban is not able to finish his sentence, because Ichigo smacks his hand over Esteban's mouth.

"Never speak of that again. Ever. You just pretend you never heard any of it…got it?!" Ichigo's face is serious enough that Esteban can do nothing but meekly nod.

After all, he did feel like maybe he was intruding on their privacy, when he had overheard them, but he has been in the hollow world for so long, that this place is crazy to him. He had been hoping they would be able to help him out.

"I'll agree to that on one condition," Esteban says, and Ichigo feels like steam must be pouring out of his ears.

"What's the condition?" Ichigo asks, dreading to hear the answer.

"Get me a gigai." Esteban says, and Ichigo's mouth drops open in shock. Rukia can hardly believe it either.

"What in the hell do you need a gigai for?" Rukia asks, dumbfounded.

"Well, there are actually a couple of reasons I want a gigai, the first being that there are so many interesting things to do around here, and I can't participate if nobody can see me. The second reason is…I found a girl. I think I'm in love!" Esteban proclaims as he lifts up his mask, and this surprises the new married couple. They have never seen him remove his mask before, and he actually isn't creepy looking at all!

"So you found a girl?" Ichigo asks, dubiously. "How did you manage that if you were busy keeping tabs on what me and my wife were doing these past two days?" Ichigo asks in an annoyed voice.

_He'd better not say it's Rukia!_

"Now that is the interesting part! I just saw her, just now, for the first time when I was checking out your street." Esteban explains, and Ichigo slaps his hand to his forehead.

"First of all, you need to be careful. This place isn't like most other places, and a lot of people can see you in your spirit form around here. Second of all, someone on my street? Are you insane?" Ichigo asks Esteban, who just gets a lovesick and dreamy look in his dark colored eyes.

"This girl…she can spank me too, if she wants to." Esteban tells Ichigo, and that causes Ichigo to blush furiously, while Rukia snickers next to him.

"Shut up!" Ichigo hisses, but Esteban just continues.

"I even heard her name! It is such a lovely name, and it just rolls off your tongue! She was so fiery…sexy…and beautiful!" Esteban says, and Rukia gets wide eyed at hearing a _hollow _talk like this about a human girl.

"Well, what was her name?" Rukia asks, and Esteban immediately smiles. It shocks Rukia, because it's the _exact_ same kind of smile that Ichigo had given her when she arrived in Hueco Mundo to help him save Inoue!

"Tatsuki." Esteban says as he puts a hand over his chest. "She was the most lovely and gorgeous creature that I have ever laid eyes on! Her reiatsu was damned nice too, more than your average human, and her body…her legs especially…she is so fucking hot!" Esteban says, and this quite unnerves Ichigo.

"Do you mind not talking about my long time friend like that? It gives me the willies." Ichigo informs Esteban, and Rukia flinches when Esteban falls to his knees in front of Ichigo.

"Please…please help me get a gigai, and introduce me to that perfect girl!" Esteban is literally begging. Ichigo sighs and rolls his eyes.

"Now listen-" Ichigo starts to talk but Esteban cuts him off.

"I'll never bring up the spankings again, I swear! I'll never come directly to your window again! I swear I will respect your privacy if you do this for me! Please! You're in love…you know how wonderful it is! Help me!" Esteban says, and Ichigo gives Rukia a befuddled look, which she returns to him.

"Yo, Rukia! This kind of drama was not what I had in mind for our first week of marriage," Ichigo says in a disappointed voice.

"Lets just help him out, after all he did swear to give us our privacy and to not speak of our _thing_ anymore. I say it's worth it. We should take him to see Urahara." Rukia says, and Ichigo sighs.

"The voice of reason…Fine." Ichigo relents, and Esteban starts hopping up and down like a teenage girl.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Esteban chants, and Ichigo claps his hand over Esteban's mouth again.

"My family can hear you. Keep that in mind." Ichigo warns Esteban, who simply nods.

"I hope this goes smoothly," Rukia says with a sigh, and Ichigo sighs with her. They both know that things going smoothly is almost as likely as a day without a hollow appearance in Karakura Town. They hope Esteban doesn't go nuts if Tatsuki rejects him completely.

_The next day…_

"Tatsuki…I have a friend, I'd like you to meet." Ichigo says, wondering if she can tell he's completely nervous. Next to Ichigo, Rukia smiles, and Esteban stands on the other side of Ichigo, staring at Tatsuki, and wondering how on earth something so beautiful is right in front of him.

"Yes, this is Esteban Gobernadorro, a friend of Ichigo's and mine," Rukia says with a big friendly smile. Esteban bows deeply, and Tatsuki bows back.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, I am your humble servant." Esteban says, and Ichigo starts swearing in his head.

_Why in the fuck didn't I ask him what he planned to say?!_

"Oh…um…well it's really nice to meet you. Do you do martial arts?" Tatsuki asks, with wide eyes. Guys don't usually talk to her, and look at her like this fellow is doing, and yet he's not doing it in an obnoxious way that completely pisses her off. She's unnerved, but a little bit happy.

"A little bit, mixed styles and such. I'd be happy to be your punching bag," Esteban magnanimously offers, and Tatsuki's eyes widen.

"Maybe Ichigo didn't tell you about my reputation…I wouldn't want to hurt you," Tatsuki tells him, since nobody has ever offered to be her punching bag. She really doesn't know what to make of it.

"There is no need for you to worry about me. I would accept the pain gratefully if it is you dealing the blow." Esteban says, and Ichigo nearly groans.

Rukia's eyes are huge, and she can't believe the interaction between the two. Tatsuki doesn't seem to know what to make of the situation, but she isn't radiating hostility, either. She seems to be taken with Esteban, even if it's only a tiny bit.

"Well thanks, that's a really nice offer. I will just keep using scumbags for punching bags though, there's no reason for me to use a friend," Tatsuki says, in the hopes that he will stop asking her to hit him. It's a bit strange.

"Then I will fight at your side, and kick ass together with you!" Esteban declares, and Ichigo can't help it, he does groan this time.

"Ichigo…you always meet the most intriguing people," Tatsuki says, with a raised eyebrow. Ichigo gives her a look of apology, without actually saying it, and she reads his face like a book, before she smiles.

"Yeah…" Ichigo mumbles, and Tatsuki looks back at Esteban. She smiles brightly at him, and gives him a grin.

"Anyone who doesn't mind me of all people, using them as a punching bag, is pretty cool in my book." Tatsuki says, before she gives a wave and walks away from them all, and Esteban just looks after her with a love struck look in his eyes.

"Her voice is so lovely, and the way she walks…she gets better and better!" Esteban exclaims, though quietly, since he doesn't want her to overhear him.

Rukia and Ichigo exchange a glance, but Rukia looks at Esteban and smiles.

_How about that? A hollow can love!_


	14. As Requested: On The Bridge

**A/N-I had a really cool request, to make a story about the ending credits for the Bleach anime, starting at episode 180. I'm quite sure that most of you have seen these ending credits, but if not, I am supplying the address in my profile, right at the very beginning, in case you haven't seen it. This is dedicated to the person who requested it, and I hope you all enjoy it.**

**The person who posted the endings on you tube, is NOT me, but I have gone and watched it, and it worked when I did. **

_On The Bridge_

When Rukia was walking around town, feeling uncertain about herself, she could clearly remember much lonelier days. Sad, painful, and horribly awful lonely days.

She remembers what it was like when her heart felt so empty, that she wondered if she'd ever find a reason to truly smile again. Her life has come to be defined by two acronyms in her heart. BI, Before Ichigo, and AI, After Ichigo, because of how significantly he changed her whole world.

Before Ichigo (BI), the reasons to smile had dwindled so much that Rukia hadn't smiled a really true smile in many years. Life became almost robotic, after Kaien-dono died, by her own blade. Rukia had often felt like she deserved to not have reasons to smile, since she had taken away Kaien-dono's warm smile that would fill the whole Thirteenth Division with happiness. She never felt sorry for herself, and she never asked anyone to sympathize with, or for her.

Life was a chore. Waking up each day, doing the same old thing, over and over, and over again. Rukia keeps walking through the dark city, looking at the bright lights, even as she remembers the pain of her past.

Then...she had been sent on assignment to Karakura Town. Rukia hadn't expected her whole life to take a one hundred and eighty degree turn, but that is exactly what happened...and AI all started with the color orange.

She thought he was a boy, but he would later prove her wrong, and show that he was an admirable young man. He reacted in a very unexpected manner when she explained that the hollows were trying to eat him due to his spiritual powers.

When he had yelled at the hollow to take his soul, Rukia had an aching flashback to Kaien-dono, and she could practically see Kaien-dono in this brainless kid, offering his soul up to the stupid hollow. Rukia reacted a split second too late, though. All because he was a complete distraction from her real duty, she ended up being bit by the hollow, and then she made a rapid decision, based on only what her heart was telling her.

Rukia also made the decision that if she were going to die that night, that she would die with this boy who reminded her so much of her former lieutenant. It was a bit of selfishness on her part, but her hypothesis hadn't been proven wrong, so it was of no consequence. She had warned him that she didn't know if it would work, and he had taken the risk, knowing full well, that it might not work.

She offered him a way to save his family, and he took it, not only that, he nearly sucked her dry of her Shinigami powers. That's when it started. All of a sudden, physically, emotionally, and mentally, she no longer felt alone. It's pretty impossible to feel alone, when you're connected with someone else, through the power of your own zanpakutou.

At first, she tried to act like it was a pain, but no matter what she said out loud, she was inwardly drawn to the orange haired boy who had the ability to make her forget everyone and everything else around her.

Rukia was glad he wasn't involved romantically with a human girl, and most of all, she was looking forward to getting to know this kid. He had impressed her a great deal the first time he killed a hollow.

Rukia found that she could read this boy even when he was trying to be a tough or cool guy. She had been shocked when he'd asked her rhetorically, if she saved him out of a sense of duty, and it seemed that deep down, he knew there was more to it all, than what she had chosen to share with him.

That was the moment she realized, that he could feel the connection too, no matter how much they both tried to act like the other was a pain in the neck, they were both enjoying this tag team partnership, far more than either of them ever expected to.

Rukia stares up at the sky, as she keeps walking around Karakura Town, and continues to contemplate hers and Ichigo's story.

Then, right as Rukia was realizing that she had actually fallen in love for the orange haired teen, she was ripped away from him, and believed him to be dead, once she was taken back to Soul Society.

Rukia did her best to keep Ichigo alive in her memories, and even went so far as to discuss him with the sweet kid that cleaned her cell. She never expected Hanatarou or Ichigo to meet one another, so it was quite ironic that Ichigo had managed to run into him of all people when he came to Soul Society to save her.

When he had appeared on the bridge in Soul Society, her heart had literally done a dance, at the sight of him. She had been surprised when he walked past her, but she knew, immediately, that he was far too emotional to address her right away.

He announced that he was there to save her, and her heart started dancing even faster...but it was such a dangerous mission that he had chosen to take up, and she wanted him to live! So she'd had to put him down, and call him a fool, but he hadn't minded at all. He accepts the fact that she loves him so much that she can't stand to see him get hurt, particularly in her name.

He had been different that day, more manly. It had been nice to know she got to feast her eyes on his magnificent figure one last time, and she didn't have to keep her former last memory of him broken, and bleeding on the ground. She really didn't believe back then, that he had the possibility of truly saving her. She believed it to be a suicide mission.

Then he had come to save her again, and his rescue was far more daring and spectacular than she had ever imagined was possible. He had held her tucked carefully within his left arm, and she hadn't been able to hide her surprise that he had his very large hand, spread across her breasts as he held her. But she didn't care, because Ichigo can touch her anywhere and anytime he likes, she enjoys his touch, that much!

That was the day she realized that he loves her so much that he can't stand to see her get hurt either. So they have both saved each other, and they no longer keep track of who has saved who more times...they only love each other silently...and deeply.

Earlier today, Ukitake called to ask her if she would like to stay with Ichigo, since he is a captain level Shinigami who really should have a lieutenant level partner, so that he doesn't die needlessly. Rukia hadn't answered right away, and that's why Ichigo is mad at her.

She had told her Captain that she would call him back and then she informed Ichigo what she had been offered. Ichigo had looked awfully hurt for an instant, and then he'd glared at her.

"Is there someplace you would rather be, than here?" Ichigo had asked her, and Rukia had just stared at him, dumbfounded.

She hadn't answered Captain Ukitake, because she felt like she should ask Ichigo what he wants, but she hadn't even been able to get that far in her explanation, because all he had to do, was hear what was offered to get mad, and get her side tracked from her original explanation.

So, instead of clarifying her point, she had gotten mad back, in response to his anger.

"Did anybody ever tell you that you're a complete and total idiot?!" Rukia had shouted at him, before she'd hopped out his window and torn away from his house. He hadn't followed her, and she hasn't gone back.

It's been a couple of hours now...and she's been walking around. She remembers each and every moment she's shared with him, and she knows how their love has slowly bloomed into something rare and beautiful, a once in a lifetime kind of love.

_Soul mates._

Rukia keeps walking around the city for an hour. When she walks onto a bridge, she sees Ichigo...just standing there. The bridge may look nothing like the one in Soul Society, but it brings back all kinds of memories of him coming to save her, just because it's a bridge. Bridges have had that effect on her for awhile now.

She slowly walks towards him and then stops, ten or so meters, away from him. She looks at him, and once again he manages to shock the hell out of her.

"You'd better stay here with me!" Ichigo calls out to her, quite loudly, and then he looks at her, expectantly.

Rukia knows. She ran away from him at his house earlier, and now she has to run back to him. She has a decision to make. To walk away or to run back to him...and the look on his face is ordering her to follow her heart, to chase her dreams, and to chase him. To...make beats with her feet.

Rukia takes a deep breath and runs towards him at top speed. He has a soft and welcoming smile on his face, and Rukia is helpless to do anything other than follow her heart…straight to Ichigo.

When she's almost to him, he yanks his hands out of his pockets and opens his arms to her. Rukia doesn't even think about it, she flies right into his arms, and hugs him fiercely. He hugs her back with no sign of letting go, and Rukia savors it. The feel of his arms holding her is nearly magical. It's more amazing than a nineties level kidou spell.

"That's what I want, Ichigo...to stay here with you, always!" Rukia admits, in an emotional voice.

Ichigo doesn't talk, because he can't. This tiny little Shinigami has brought him nearly to tears, because he can feel her emotions as if they're his own. So Ichigo answers her, by pulling away and claiming her lips in a possessive, but loving kiss.

"Running away from me, is not an option...Rukia." Ichigo whispers, when they finally pull away.

Rukia nods as he takes her hand and they walk off the bridge to head for home. A happiness far greater than what she had ever experienced in her past is now upon her, and she's grateful to Ichigo for giving her all of that.

_I'll never run away from you, Ichigo._


	15. As Requested: Dancing With Rukia

_**A/N-I had a request to have Rukia and Ichigo go to a school dance. This is dedicated to the one that requested it. Please enjoy!**_

_Dancing With Rukia _

When Rukia and Ichigo jumped up at the exact same time, twenty minutes before class ended, and insisted they needed to go to the bathroom, the teacher sighed.

This happens at least once a week, and somehow they always get out of the room, no matter how hard she tries to stop them. She's finally accepted this as a fact, and instead of stopping them, she hands them each a piece of paper, since she planned to give every student one at the end of class.

Rukia and Ichigo both take the paper and rush out of the room without looking at what the teacher handed them. Sado and Inoue exchange a look, because they always get a little bit nervous when they can't accompany Ichigo to kill a hollow.

Ichigo and Rukia run into a small horde of hollows and defeat them quite quickly. Within a couple of minutes, all of the hollows are cleaned up, and there are no injuries sustained by Ichigo or Rukia.

When they get home, Ichigo immediately starts to get out all of his schoolwork, and he pulls out the paper that the teacher handed them at the end of the day.

His eyes widen as he reads it.

_A mandatory school dance? _

Apparently they're studying other cultures, and they're going to have a school dance, just like the teenagers do in America. Ichigo does not want to attend any dance...but it's mandatory.

Rukia sees him staring at the paper and so she walks over behind him, and reads over his shoulder. Ichigo feels his cheeks burning up as she does it, too.

"Bring a date to Karakura High's first school dance...the attire will be dressy...dance is mandatory..." Rukia reads small bits and parts out loud.

"Do you even understand half of what you're saying?" Ichigo asks her, without meeting her eyes, and Rukia bops him hard in the back of his head.

"Of course I understand it. I am a Kuchiki, don't you think we've ever had parties with dancing?" Rukia asks him, and Ichigo's eyes widen. For some reason, he doesn't like that comment.

"This is so stupid. We live in Japan, why do we have to do something from American culture?" Ichigo whines, and Rukia just glares at him.

"It's to make you a more well rounded person." Rukia states, and Ichigo rolls his eyes.

"Stop acting like you know what you're talking about." Ichigo grumbles.

She has to have microwaves and juice boxes explained to her, but she tries to act like she understands this, and Ichigo doesn't get how she can be so sure of herself.

"So are you going to go or are you going to skip it?" Rukia asks curiously. Ichigo sighs.

"It says it's mandatory, so I have to go, even if I don't want to." Ichigo grumbles, and it's at that moment that Yuzu pounds on the door, holding the portable telephone.

"It's for Rukia-chan." Yuzu says, as she hands Rukia the phone. Rukia looks surprised. Anybody who has a need to call her, should be calling her spirit phone. Rukia takes the phone from Yuzu, and watches Ichigo's sister hurry out of his room and close the door behind her.

"Hello?" Rukia says. Her eyes widen at the sound of Keigo's voice.

"Kuchiki-san! I was wondering of you would like to be my date for the dance!" Keigo asks in a breathless rush, and Rukia's eyes widen to huge proportions.

"You want to take me to the dance?!" Rukia repeats in surprise. She's even further surprised when Ichigo yanks the phone out of her hand.

"Who in the hell is this?" Ichigo demands, and he rolls his eyes when he hears Keigo's voice.

"Why did you take the phone?" Rukia asks in surprise. Ichigo ignores her.

"She already has a date. I'm taking her. Don't _ever_ call here for her again." Ichigo says in a cold voice before he hangs up the phone.

"Ichigo?" Rukia says in shock. He lets out a big aggravated sigh.

"You knew I was taking you, didn't you?" Ichigo asks as he tosses the phone onto his bed.

"No, I didn't know. What makes you so sure I want you to take me, considering you don't even want to go? You might be a boring date." Rukia says, as she raises an eyebrow and stares at him.

"Rukia...how can we go with other dates?! What happens if a hollow appears? Are we just going to abandon our dates and leave together?" Ichigo asks in an irritated tone of voice.

"If that's the only reason you want to take me...I would prefer not to go with you." Rukia says before she stomps out of his room. Ichigo groans, and wonders why his teacher had to make his life so damned difficult.

"Rukia! Come back here!" Ichigo yells, after a moment, and she does not appear. "Damn it!" Ichigo wonders if she left the house, and he immediately heads out of his room to locate her.

Yuzu tells him that she walked out the front door, and Ichigo starts to worry about what kind of mischief she could cause, being in as bad a mood as she seemed when she left his room.

He finds her on a bench near a lake, staring at the water with a look of concentration on her face.

"What do you want, Ichigo?" Rukia asks, without even turning her head around to see him approaching behind her.

"I want to know why in the hell you got mad that I'm going to take you to the school dance!" Ichigo mutters, and Rukia turns her head enough to shoot him a truly angry glare.

"You only want to take me out of convenience! Did it even occur to you that I might like to go for a different reason altogether?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo blushes.

"I shouldn't have put it that way...but I wouldn't want anybody besides you to be my date." Ichigo tells her in a soft voice, but Rukia just glares at him some more.

"If I get asked nicely by someone, I may not be able to go with you." Rukia says, crossing her arms. Ichigo rolls his eyes.

"Damn it! I'm taking you to the fucking dance! If anybody else asks you, I'll kick their ass!" Ichigo snaps, and then he turns to head home.

He refuses to look back, since he can feel how red his face is, and he's sure she can see how red his ears are, even with his back to her. Rukia's mouth is gaped open as she stares at him walking away.

He sounded almost like a jealous boyfriend when she had told him she may go with someone else if they ask her nicely.

_The Next Day... _

"Kurosaki-kun..." Inoue's voice trails off, and she wonders where Kuchiki-san is. She doesn't want to be overheard, asking this question.

"Inoue...what's going on?" Ichigo asks, even as he looks anxious to get past her.

"I was wondering...if...um...if you'd go to the dance with me!" Inoue says it so fast and so quietly, it takes Ichigo a moment to figure out what in the hell she just said.

Ichigo stares at her in complete shock for a moment before finally answering her.

"Sorry, Inoue. I have a date already." Ichigo tells her, and Inoue looks so sad, that Ichigo feels bad for her. "Why don't you ask Sado or Ishida? I'm sure one of them wouldn't mind taking you." Ichigo tells her, and she looks like she wants to cry, but she nods her head at him and hurries away.

"You had to turn her down? Who are you going with?" Tatsuki makes Ichigo jump in surprise.

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" Ichigo snaps at her, and Tatsuki crosses her arms.

"I was sure you wouldn't have a date yet. Who are you taking?" Tatsuki asks him, and Ichigo refuses to look her in the eyes.

"Why?" Ichigo asks, without meeting her gaze.

"It's Kuchiki-san, isn't it?" Tatsuki asks, and Ichigo just nods his head yes.

"I asked her last night." Ichigo says softly. He hadn't asked, he'd told her he was taking her, but Tatsuki doesn't need to know _that_ much detail.

"That was fast." Tatsuki says, as she gives Ichigo an amused look.

"It's not my fault. I had to ask her quick, because other people were trying to get her to go with them." Ichigo mutters, and Tatsuki only looks more amused.

"So...in other words...you were jealous, and unhappy at the idea of her going with anybody besides you? That's so...unlike you." Tatsuki says as she stares at him. Ichigo feels himself getting angry, so much so that he speaks before putting any thought into what he is saying.

"What makes you think I'd ever be okay with Rukia going out with someone else?!" Ichigo says it angrily, and once he speaks, the words register in his head.

_I should really think before I open my mouth sometimes. _

"That's true, you have spent most of your time around her, since she showed up in this town. It's just that you both always seem to deny any romantic relationship whenever someone asks you, which is what makes this honesty of yours, so surprising." Tatsuki admits, and Ichigo just shakes his head.

"Leave it alone, Tatsuki." Ichigo sighs and walks away from her.

Things have become far more complicated than they ever should have been. Everybody is making a huge deal out of this dance, and the girls are walking around, squealing about the fact that they get to go to a dance, and that it's the first time ever that Karakura High has done such a thing.

Ichigo notices Rukia has appeared next to him, though he's not sure when that happened. Sometimes she's so good at sneaking up on him, due to her petite size.

"It looks like you're the only one who's not excited about this dance!" Rukia tells him, and Ichigo feels himself start to get frustrated.

"Who said I'm not?" Ichigo finally asks, and Rukia just gives him a disbelieving look.

"You! You said you didn't even want to go! You said you're only going because it's mandatory!" Rukia hisses at him, so that nobody overhears them.

"It's not that bad…at least I'm going with you," Ichigo says softly, and Rukia just gives him a look that tells him she thinks he's insane.

"Riiigght." Rukia says, before she clams up. She can't believe Ichigo just implied that he's excited to be going to the dance with her! It seems too good to be true.

_The Day of The Dance…_

Isshin arrives home with a boutonniere for Ichigo and a wrist corsage for Rukia. He sticks them in the fridge, and heads upstairs to check on Ichigo. When he enters his son's room, he sees the couple sitting there, paying no attention to one another. Rukia is on the floor, reading a magazine, and Ichigo has his headphones on, staring at the ceiling while he lays in bed.

"Aren't you two going to get ready?" Isshin asks, and Ichigo looks at the clock.

"We don't have to leave for two hours." Ichigo snaps, and Isshin grins.

"But I'm going to take pictures. And Rukia-chan…Yuzu really wants to help you with your hair." Isshin says. Yuzu had mentioned as much to Rukia earlier, and she closes the magazine.

"I suppose we can get started on my hair." Rukia says, and she walks past Isshin to locate Yuzu.

Ichigo refuses to meet his father's eyes, and he turns the volume up so loud that his father is sure to be able to hear it from where he's standing in the doorway. Isshin glares at Ichigo, and then he walks over and yanks his headphones off.

"Hey!" Ichigo snaps and he tries to grab them back, but Isshin just grabs Ichigo's MP3 player up too, and shuts it off.

"If you don't make sure Rukia-chan has a great time tonight, I will make your mornings for the next week ten times more violent!" Isshin warns Ichigo, who glares at his father.

"Get out of my room!" Ichigo growls, and Isshin sighs.

"Don't be an idiot…make sure you treat her right tonight." Isshin says, before he leaves Ichigo's room, as commanded.

Ichigo scoffs. He had planned on making sure Rukia had a good time, and he doesn't need anybody else telling him to do it, either. Things have been strange since he declared he was taking her to the dance. It feels like she's avoiding him a little bit, even though she's always with him.

She has hardly brought up the dance, since he told her it wouldn't be bad since he'd be going with her.

_And here I thought I opened up a can of worms. She hasn't even questioned me about what I said. I wonder if it bothered her, since I was pretty obvious, when I said that._

Ichigo sighs, and grabs his MP3 player to listen some more.

_At the dance…_

Rukia sighs. Ichigo still hasn't gotten over the picture taking. His father had made the couple blush so many times. He insisted on several embarrassing poses, and Ichigo had been fairly unhappy with the whole account.

They haven't danced once, and every time it looks like someone will ask her, Ichigo gives them an evil eye, so they change their mind.

Ichigo is getting aggravated. They still haven't played any slow songs, and he is not into fast dancing. Rukia of course, looks restless and beautiful, with her hair piled on top of her head, with curled tendrils framing her face, and the royal blue dress she picked out, really brings out her eyes.

When another fast song starts, Ichigo stands and tells Rukia to follow him. Rukia follows him over to the DJ, and Ichigo glares at the man.

"Can I help you?" The DJ asks, and Ichigo gives him a very annoyed look.

"How about a slow song?" Ichigo growls at him, but the DJ puts a hand to his ear, like he didn't hear Ichigo, and then he puts his hand on the volume.

"What?!" The DJ yells.

Ichigo nearly dies, when the volume is muted right as he shouts at the DJ.

"Play a slow song, you dumb ass!" Ichigo shouts, and everyone in the gym starts to laugh.

Ichigo flushes bright red, and is ready to leap over the electronic equipment to beat the man's head up against a speaker, but the guy does what he demanded, and he begins to play a slow song. Ichigo pulls Rukia to the dance floor, and she smiles up at him.

"Is this what you have been waiting for?" Rukia asks him as he pulls her close to him. Ichigo nods, and she places her hands on his shoulders. He puts his hands loosely around her lower back, and Rukia lays her head on his chest.

"I don't dance to fast songs…" Ichigo mutters, and Rukia is feeling breathless from how close they are, and how romantic it feels to be dancing with him, like this.

"I don't want this moment to end," Rukia whispers so softly that Ichigo doesn't hear her, but he feels the same way.

"This is nice," Ichigo says softly, and he blushes again, since he feels so stupid, but Rukia just lets out a breathless sigh, that makes him think she feels the exact same way.

Everyone in the room can see how happy the couple looks, and neither Rukia or Ichigo notice everyone noticing, since they're so caught up in each other. Ichigo half closes his eyes, and just concentrates on the lovely girl in his arms.

Suddenly the entire night feels perfect…and both of them feel it, just how wonderful it is to hold the one you love, so close. Ichigo just keeps on smiling.

_I love dancing with Rukia._


	16. As Requested: Too Risky

**A/N-I had a request within my forum several days ago to do an explanation for why Rukia stopped showering at Ichigo's house, back when she was living there secretly. Apparently, in an interview done, Rukia claimed that she would shower late at night and Ichigo would stand guard while she did so. Then she claimed that it became too risky, so she stopped doing that. This is dedicated to that person, and I hope you all enjoy it! Lemon Alert!**

_Too Risky_

Rukia is having trouble falling asleep in Karin and Yuzu's room. Really, there are benefits and downfalls both of living here with the family knowing about it, versus living here and only having Ichigo know about it.

At least she can shower here again. Rukia is glad for the darkness in the room when she feels her cheeks heat up. She's never forgotten what happened, the last time she had showered here, when she had lived in the Kurosaki home secretly.

In his room, Ichigo is having the exact same thoughts…the night she'd demanded he never bring up again.

It had been so amazing…so hot…so unexpected!

_Flashback_

Rukia had only barely gotten her clothes off when the door quickly opened and Ichigo hurried in. His eyes widened when he caught sight of her naked body, but the look of panic on his face, told her that he had a good reason for being in the bathroom with her.

He put a finger to his lips, and Rukia grabs the towel to throw around herself.

Then Isshin was outside the door.

"Ichigo?! Why are you in there so late? Didn't you shower earlier?" Ichigo's father yells out, and Ichigo looks totally freaked out.

"I wanted to shower again! Leave me alone!" Ichigo calls out through the door, putting his hands up against it to hold it closed in case Isshin decides to bust inside.

Rukia stares at the door, with her heart pounding. She wonders if Isshin is going to wait for Ichigo to exit the shower.

"Since you haven't started yet, can I use the bathroom real quick?" Isshin calls out and Rukia's eyes widen and Ichigo turns his head to glance at her in horror.

"I'm ready to get in now! Go downstairs!" Ichigo calls out.

"Come on! Let me in! What are you trying to hide?!" Isshin calls out, and Rukia gathers up her clothes and hurries into the tub, as she pushes the curtain back in place to hide herself.

"Go away!" Ichigo shouts, and then Rukia hears his father start to push on the door.

"I don't want to go downstairs! If you had just let me in when I asked, I'd have already been finished by now!" Isshin yells, even as he grins on the other side of the door.

Isshin has known about Rukia since Ichigo freaked out on her first arrival here. He had played dumb, but he's finally figured out that the girl showers late at night and that his son is protecting her.

"I'm not letting you in here!" Ichigo roars, and Isshin starts to push harder.

"Just get in the tub! I'll be done in a flash!" Isshin yells, and Rukia's eyes widen at that suggestion.

"No! I don't want you in here while I'm in here. Get lost!" Ichigo yells, and Rukia feels like her heart is going to pop out of her chest.

"Fine! I'll go downstairs!" Isshin calls out, and Ichigo doesn't stop letting go of the door, but he breathes a sigh of relief, when he hears his father walking away.

Rukia breathes in relief too, and she drops her clothes on the floor outside of the tub. She takes off the towel and turns on the water. She doesn't even think about the fact that Ichigo is still in the room with her, or that he saw her naked, because the circumstances had made it necessary.

Suddenly though, the door is thrown open and she hears Ichigo fighting with his father to get it shut. Rukia quickly steps back so that it doesn't sound like the water is falling on a person.

Ichigo wins the battle and immediately removes his shirt and throws it over Rukia's clothes, in case his father gets the door back open.

"You're still not in the shower yet?! Why are you wasting water?" Isshin yells, and Ichigo swears under his breath.

"I knew you'd come back! Go away!" Ichigo shouts through the door, and Isshin yells back.

"If you don't get in there, right now, I'm going to go shut off the water!" Isshin sounds deadly serious and Ichigo's face turns white.

"Go away and I'll get in!" Ichigo shouts, and Isshin calls his bluff.

"Okay, I'm turning off the water." Isshin calls out and Ichigo freaks out.

"Don't!" Ichigo shouts, and Rukia nearly falls in the tub when Isshin catches Ichigo off guard and forces his way back into the bathroom.

"Get in or leave. One or the other." Isshin says loudly with his arms crossed. Ichigo is speechless for a second.

"You don't need to watch me!" Ichigo growls, and Isshin laughs.

"Get over yourself. If you're not getting in, turn off the water and go to bed." Isshin says, and Ichigo feels his face turning red.

"Fine!" Ichigo says, and Rukia hears a bit of rustling, but then Ichigo climbs into the shower…completely naked with her.

Her eyes widen at the sight of it, and Ichigo realizes his father left the bathroom as he got into the tub.

"Don't spend all night in there!" Isshin yells through the door. Ichigo and Rukia just stare at each other, and breathe heavily.

"Oh my god…" Rukia mumbles, as she covers her chest with her arms and stares at Ichigo who is currently covering his crotch with his hands.

"I don't think it's a good idea for me to get out…the old man might pop back in here in a minute." Ichigo whispers and he tries not to stare at all of the skin that Rukia has exposed to him in the tub. She can hardly take her eyes off of him, and she feels herself starting to shiver from being wet and stepping away from the water.

She takes a step closer to him, since he'd gotten in on the end closest to the faucet, and she's back in the hot water. She closes her eyes and blushes. She can't believe this is the result of wanting to simply bathe. It's not all bad though…

Ichigo stares at her now that her eyes are closed…with the water dripping down her body and everything in front of him, he can hardly breathe. He wants to touch her so bad. He's completely turned on, and his body is really obvious about it.

Rukia opens her eyes and catches Ichigo staring at her longingly, and she blushes at that.

_I transferred my powers to him…when I'm caught by Soul Society, I'll probably get into a lot of trouble. They might even kill me. Would it be wrong to experience what it would be like to touch him…before I lose it all?_

Ichigo can tell Rukia is thinking about something as she looks at him, and he's a bit embarrassed that she caught him looking at her, but how could he do anything else? He's a teenage boy, and she's hot and naked in the tub…and he's in here with her.

Rukia opens up her arms, and Ichigo's eyes widen. She's giving him a choice…to stay put or to step forward and hold her. Ichigo steps forward and nearly passes out at the feeling of her wet skin up against his own.

Ichigo puts his arms around her and enjoys the feeling of the water running over them. Rukia grabs the liquid soap and steps away from him. Ichigo blushes since his erection is as plain as day with her eyes open and her stepping away from him.

"Since you're here, you may as well make yourself useful. Lather me up." Rukia commands him, and Ichigo blushes as he holds out his hand and she squirts liquid soap into his hands. Rukia stays facing him, and Ichigo blushes as he starts with her shoulders and arms.

He can hardly believe she's going to let him soap her body up…but that's what she had just stated, and so when he moves to her upper chest and when he starts to soap up her breasts, she closes her eyes and grabs onto his shoulders to stand completely still as he soaps downwards, to her belly and then in between her legs.

The whole experience is very erotic for Ichigo, until he hears the bathroom door open and his eyes widen. He peeks out of the curtain and sees his father in the door, giving him a thumbs up sign.

Ichigo doesn't know what to make of that, but he's now glad he hadn't hurried back out of the tub, or his father would surely realize Rukia was here. His father shuts the door and leaves them alone.

Ichigo turns back to Rukia and squats down to lather up her legs. When he finishes with her front side, she turns around and he completes lathering her up there as well. Then Rukia steps closer to him again, and lets the water rinse off the soap.

Then her hand grabs at his erection, and Ichigo lets out a groan. He doesn't even think about what he's doing, he just reacts. He leans down to kiss her as she runs her hands up the length of his arousal, and with moments they're kissing passionately, in an uncontrolled frenzy.

Ichigo turns Rukia around so that her back is to him, and he leans over to kiss her neck. She tilts her head to the side and gives him as much access as he wants, and his hands travel up and down her sides, going back to her breasts quite often as he touches her, and massages her breasts.

They're both moaning softly and Ichigo slips his hand in between her legs again. He can feel the heat that radiates from her most sensuous place, and without thinking twice about it, he starts to rub himself, up against her. Rukia lets out a moan of pleasure as she puts her hand up on the wall in front of her.

"Rukia…" Ichigo whispers into her ear as he starts to slip within her. Rukia inhales quickly and excitedly as she can feel it…she's about to make love to him.

"Ichigo!" Rukia says in a low fervent voice and she puts both hands up against the wall as he pushes the rest of the way in. Rukia closes her eyes as the water and steam rush around and he starts to move within her.

Rukia loves the way he moans quietly in her ear, letting her know he is loving this as much as she is, and she revels in the feelings that it brings to her as she feels him moving all around, within her.

Suddenly, Ichigo exhales very loudly, with a bit of a moan mixed in with it, and then he pulls out of her but hugs her to him close. Rukia twists in his arms until she's facing him, and they hold each other tight for a minute.

_Thank you Ichigo…I love you._

She doesn't dare say it out loud. After all, the day will come when she'll have to leave him…and if she tells him how she feels, he may try to do something stupid…like come after her.

_I will always love you, Rukia._

He doesn't dare say it out loud, for fear she'll mock his feelings or not return the sentiment. Instead, they just hold each other tight, until the water starts to lose its heat.

Rukia climbs out of the tub first, and dries off with the towel, and gathers up her clothes. There is only one towel though, so she passes it to him while he's still in the tub, and he dries off inside before he climbs out and blushes at the sight of her naked body again. It's strange, he just made love to her, but he can't stop being embarrassed.

"Let me check the hall." Ichigo whispers, and Rukia waits, with her heart beating as Ichigo does just that.

He motions that the coast is clear, and she darts past him naked into his room. Ichigo gathers up his clothes and slowly follows after her. Surprisingly, she pops out of the closet with Yuzu's pajamas on right after he gets his sweatpants on.

"Promise me." Rukia says, and Ichigo gives her a strange look.

"Promise you what?" Ichigo asks, as he stares at her and blushes.

"We will never speak of tonight again." Rukia says. Ichigo gives her a weird and hurt look.

"I can't promise that." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia glares at him.

"I want you to forget that it happened…don't bring it up again!" Rukia snaps before she jumps back in the closet and leaves him with his mouth hanging open.

_I'll never forget it. I'll wait…for the day you bring it up to me._

Ichigo climbed into bed and fell asleep after he spent over an hour staring at the closet.

_End Flashback_

"He never forgot. I know it." Rukia mutters, as she finally feels like she can fall asleep. Whenever she has a difficult time falling asleep, all she has to do is remember that one hot night in the shower.

She had started going to Urahara's to shower after that, but these days she can shower in the Kurosaki home without Ichigo having to keep guard.

_One of these days, I'll remind him of that night, and drag him into the bathroom with me._

After Ichigo remembers the events of the night, he falls asleep too, with a smile on his face.

He's never forgotten that one amazing night with Rukia.


	17. As Requested: Surprise, Surprise!

**A/N-I had a request to do an Ichigo & Rukia chapter that includes Tatsuki, Keigo, and Mizuiro, and what possible help they could be in the battle against Aizen. This is dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Surprise, Surprise!_

"Come on, Ichigo…we have to get out of Hueco Mundo, and go join in the battle that's happening in the living world now!" Rukia says, as she helps Ichigo to his feet. They're alone, Ishida had collected Inoue during the fight and everyone had gone with him and Inoue to safety. They allowed Ichigo and Rukia to deal with the remaining enemy.

"My whole body hurts." Ichigo mumbles, as he allows Rukia to help him up.

"Ignore the pain…I'm sure that there is a way to get out of here, we simply have to find everyone else!" Rukia says.

"I need medical attention." Ichigo mutters and Rukia helps him lay back down. Ichigo transforms out of his bankai form.

"Where are you injured?" Rukia asks with concern, and Ichigo points at his torso.

Rukia begins to blush as she unties the white belt that holds the top part of his robe closed. She pushes the robe out of her way, and she doesn't notice that Ichigo is pink in the face too. She immediately starts to use her healing kidou to take care of the gash that's on his stomach. Ichigo stays quiet and pink as her concentration stays on the spot that was injured.

She's seen him like this before, but he usually was far more out of it when she would heal him in critical places like he was now. The Grande Fisher had also injured him in the same area, and he had been unconscious when she had healed that wound. He had been very grateful that she'd been able to take care of it. He had known at the time he received the wound that it was a bad one.

Rukia stays quiet and it hardly takes long for her to finish. Ichigo touches his stomach and grins at her.

"It's been so long, I'd forgotten how good you are at that." Ichigo says gratefully as he stands and ties his robe closed again.

"How could you forget? You ungrateful fool." Rukia mutters.

_I was the one healing you the whole time we fought together in the beginning!_

"I just think of you as a fighter…and not a healer." Ichigo mutters, even as he realizes she found his last statement just a bit offensive, when he'd meant it as a compliment.

"Well, we need to hurry out of here. We should go." Rukia says, as she starts heading for the spot where everyone seems to have gathered.

"How are we supposed to get out of Hueco Mundo anyways?" Ichigo calls out next to her, and Rukia shakes her head.

"Shouldn't you have already had an idea of how you were going to accomplish that when you came here to save Inoue? Or did you just go without thinking it through at all?!" Rukia demands angrily.

She had thought he had befriended the hollows for that very purpose! Now she comes to find out that like a moron, he had no plans!

Ichigo's eyes widen in embarrassment. He really hadn't given it that much thought, nor had he been that concerned. He didn't think it through that far, because he was going to concentrate on one fight at a time, and worry about getting out once he had finished the mission.

"Sorry…I just felt like Inoue was so weak, I needed to come straight here. I can't stand when the weak are preyed upon." Ichigo answers, and Rukia sighs.

"It's not like I don't understand, but I previously believed that you befriended those hollows for the very purpose of creating an exit once we saved Inoue." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo looks off to his other side, refusing to meet her perceptive stare.

"I couldn't kill Nell, she's too much like a human." Ichigo says, and Rukia sighs.

"I didn't kill them because I saw them as our way out of here." Rukia informs him, and Ichigo gives her a shocked look.

"You mean…if you had a way out of here…you would have killed her?" Ichigo asks.

"Not immediately. She did help us get to Aizen's fortress, but yes, I would purify her otherwise." Rukia admits, and Ichigo gives her a horrified look.

"Rukia!" Ichigo doesn't like the sound of that. She just kills hollows, with no bias…even if they aren't hurting anything.

"Ichigo! I thought I told you a long time ago, that purifying a hollow doesn't mean you're killing it! You're making it able to go to the home of all souls! Soul Society!" Rukia snaps at him. It's not a matter of anything other than doing her job!

"So that's true for Arrancar…too?" Ichigo asks, he really hadn't been sure.

"Think back, Ichigo! When Inoue's brother died…did he have his mask? Did he get back some of his conscience? He was just like the Arrancar we face here, except that he was able to remember his love for his sister. Don't you believe Nell has as much consciousness as Inoue's brother did when he decided to die?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo gasps in shock.

How had he forgotten that Inoue's brother didn't have the mask when he died? That he had gained back a piece of his heart?! Arrancar can be purified and sent to Soul Society too!

"Really?!" Ichigo asks hopefully.

"Well, there is one exception. If Aizen somehow manipulated the hollow to come back to Hueco Mundo after its death by a Shinigami…then it may not be true." Rukia mutters, remembering that she had faced a hollow that had eaten the remains of the hollow that had fused with Kaien-dono.

"That fucking bastard!" Ichigo growls, as they keep moving towards the exit.

"What took you so long!? We've been waiting for you!" Renji shouts when he sees them come into view.

"Ichigo needed to be healed before we could come back here." Rukia says as they land near everyone else, and Inoue looks downwards. She likes to be the one to heal Kurosaki-kun!

"I will let you out of Hueco Mundo now!" Nell announces with a big smile. Nell rips open a space between Hueco Mundo and the living world. Everyone begins to leave, and Ichigo smiles fondly at Nell.

"Thank you, Nell." Ichigo says, and Rukia grabs his arm to pull him through the hole since everyone else already jumped out, including the captains.

"Bye, Ichigo!" Nell yells, and Ichigo smiles, as he and Rukia fly out, and she lets go of his arm.

"What reiatsu!" Rukia comments as they head towards where the battle is obviously taking place.

"What about Aizen's power?! How are we supposed to kill someone who can hypnotize most of the Shinigami in Soul Society?!" Ichigo asks Rukia in a panic.

"I don't know. I don't believe you've seen him release his zanpakutou yet, but if you do see it, you'll have the same problem as everyone else." Rukia tells him, and suddenly Ichigo spots Urahara and Yoruichi below.

"Rukia! Look!" Ichigo calls and he decides to land by them. He's very surprised when he realizes that three other people are with them.

"Urahara!" Rukia yells, as she follows Ichigo downward. Ichigo's eyes widen as he realizes who all is with Urahara.

"Tatsuki! Mizuiro! Keigo!" Ichigo yells as he lands in front of the group. Rukia stares in shock.

"What is going on here?" Rukia demands, and Urahara smiles.

"These three here, are the secret weapon for when we're ready to battle Aizen. Right now he is not participating in the battle yet, he's surrounded by the Captain Commander's fire." Urahara says, as he snaps his fan open.

"Secret weapon?!" Ichigo says, as he stares at his friends.

"Since you left, we've been training under Yoruichi-san!" Keigo says excitedly.

"Really? What can you do?" Rukia asks Keigo curiously, and he blushes at having her attention, which makes Ichigo scowl.

"I can see Shinigami!" Keigo says, still blushing, and Ichigo rolls his eyes.

"That's it?" Ichigo asks, and Yoruichi glares at him.

"These two boys eyes may be what save Soul Society." Yoruichi snaps at Ichigo.

"I can do more, though." Tatsuki says, and Ichigo turns to her in surprise.

"You can?" Ichigo asks, and Tatsuki grins wickedly at him.

"Yeah." Tatsuki says, and Yoruichi grins too.

"She surprised us, actually." Yoruichi says as she crosses her arms and smirks.

"I surprised myself!" Tatsuki says with a laugh.

"What can you do?" Ichigo asks, and Yoruichi holds her hand out to stop Tatsuki.

"You'll have to wait and see. I can't have her wasting her reiatsu now." Yoruichi explains, and Ichigo looks disappointed. He was really curious to know what kind of power Tatsuki has developed.

"Can you tell me? I may be too busy in battle, to see." Ichigo tells her, and Tatsuki grins.

"Yeah, I have two separate powers. The first power I have is to send the power of my kicks and punches long distance. I guess I gather reiatsu around my legs or arms, so that when I punch, or kick, a powerful ball of reiatsu flies at the opponent." Tatsuki says with a smirk.

"That sounds similar to Sado's power." Rukia says as she stares at Tatsuki.

"It's different, she doesn't develop any armor, she just sends a powerful wave of reiatsu that is effective when she kicks or punches." Yoruichi explains.

"What's your other power?" Ichigo asks, and Tatsuki looks at him.

"Reflection." Tatsuki says, even though she's not as proud of that power.

"Reflection? What is that?" Ichigo asks, even as he remembers how Nell had reflected a cero during his fights in Hueco Mundo.

"It's exactly what it sounds like. She acts like she's blocking a hit, but what she really does is block an ability. It's similar to Orihime's shield, except that instead of only protecting from attacks, it can send the attack right back at her opponent." Yoruichi says as she smiles and looks at Tatsuki.

"It's a lot stronger than I realized. She can reflect any attack once, but then she weakens considerably…she can even reflect an attack of someone whose rank is that of a captain, but she can't do it over and over again. She needs small breaks in between." Yoruichi explains, but Urahara grins.

"Once may be all that's necessary, to nudge this battle in our favor." Urahara states.

"I'll do whatever I can to help you, if I see you using that power," Ichigo promises.

"Ichigo…we have to go to the battle now!" Rukia calls out, and Ichigo nods, and they take off for the sky.

"Good luck! Do your best!" Keigo shouts as they fly upward.

"Stay safe…Ichigo." Tatsuki says softly, as she stares at the sky.

"Don't worry about Kurosaki-san…Kuchiki-san won't let anything happen to him." Urahara assures Tatsuki, who stares up at him.

"How can you be so sure?" Tatsuki asks, remembering how Kuchiki-san had laid on the ground, when she had witnessed Ichigo confronting Grimmjow.

"It's what they do. They always give each other strength, and protection." Yoruichi says as she looks at the three.

"What they do?" Tatsuki echoes, and she realizes she already knew, that Ichigo and Kuchiki-san had something going on between them.

"Of course, the power of the feelings one has for nakama should also never be underestimated. Everyone will be grateful for your help." Yoruichi says, and Urahara closes his fan.

"Okay everyone, it's time for us to venture closer to the battle." Urahara says in a singsong voice.

In the sky, Rukia and Ichigo approach closer to the battle.

"Ichigo! Whatever you do…don't die!" Rukia orders, and Ichigo smiles.

"You always worry about me…make sure you stay alive…no matter what!" Ichigo says back, and Rukia smiles too.

_Of course I'll stay alive…who else is going to kick your ass into gear when this battle is over?_


	18. As Requested: ZSNS

**A/_N- This was a request in regards to Zangetsu and Sode No Shirayuki, and how the blades of Ichigo and Rukia's souls fell in love. It's dedicated to the one that requested it, and I still have a lot of requests that I'm working on, so don't worry if I haven't gotten to one that you've sent me. I'll try to do them all, as long as they're Ichigo/Rukia related requests! Please Enjoy!_**

_Z+SNS_

While Ichigo and Rukia were getting to know each other in Karakura Town, when they first met, they had no idea what was going on in Ichigo's inner world, and he certainly wasn't aware of what was going on, nor did he sense it.

Sode No Shirayuki was in Ichigo's inner world. She can sense the strength of the reiatsu inside, and so she painstakingly started to search through many of the buildings, that were there, within Ichigo's inner world.

At first, she was all alone, just searching through the endless buildings, since it was impossible to pinpoint where the huge reiatsu was coming from, it seems to come from everywhere.

It wasn't until Ichigo fought the first hollow that he ever sent to hell, that she got a major clue. She was far away from where she needed to be, to find his true power. Sode No Shirayuki didn't waste a lot of time, finding her way to the general area of where Ichigo's true power was dormant, and asleep.

She doesn't know how power had been drawn from a sleeping power, other than to say the kid had an iron will. Unfortunately, the kid finished the fight so quickly that she wasn't able to get into the area in time to know exactly which building she needed to be searching.

She searched very hard, and looked in every room, every possible place that his power could be sleeping, and then she was given another major break. The rain starts to pour very heavily within his inner world.

This is the fight with the Grande Fisher, and during this fight, his inner power starts to react to his deep feelings of vengeance for the hollow that killed his mother. Sode No Shirayuki rushed to the place, where the reiatsu was bursting, and being tapped into, and that was when she found him. Ichigo's power…Zangetsu. He's dead asleep. Not ready to be woken up yet, but still he glows, with an amazing reiatsu, that the kid is taking without difficulty, for the fight currently at hand.

Sode No Shirayuki feels instantly drawn to this power. It seeps into her, and makes her feel very good, very energetic. Nothing feels better than to be near this endless reservoir of reiatsu, that makes her feel warm, even though she is the snow…and _always_ cold.

Sode No Shirayuki drops to the floor, next to Zangetsu's side and then she starts to shake him…hard.

"Wake up! You need to wake up! There is no time for sleeping! Get up or you'll never see the light of day!" Sode No Shirayuki says in a very strong voice, but Zangetsu groans a little and rolls over, ignoring her.

Sode No Shirayuki can't help but to gape at the absurdly gorgeous man in complete shock.

_Can't he feel how serious this fight is becoming!? At this rate…he'll die…I don't want that!_

Sode No Shirayuki is definitely surprised at the depth in which she wants this powerful man to live. She knows that Rukia must feel the exact same way about this kid…or she wouldn't have these feelings. She and Rukia share the same goals, the same desires, and of course the same love.

Sode No Shirayuki is rather annoyed though, that he turned over and is ignoring her. She is the most beautiful soul slayer in all of Soul Society…she does _not _like being ignored, no way, no how.

Sode No Shirayuki stands up and puts her hands on her hips as she glares at him, and the thunder is far louder than her voice could ever be…but this jackass is still asleep! Snow is falling off of her body, and landing on him, but he doesn't even react to the cold of it.

Sode No Shirayuki kicks him. Hard. Right in the rear end, as hard as she can, using every last ounce of her strength. She wonders if she'll need to kick him again, or if once was enough.

Zangetsu opens his eyes. That was not a pleasant thing to wake up to, particularly when he feels like he needs decades of sleep before he's even ready to awaken. He scowls angrily and flips over to look at who dared to disturb his sleep, and he can't speak. He can only stare, even as Ichigo starts tapping into more of his power, now that he's awake.

"Who are you?" Zangetsu finally asks after staring at her for a long minute, completely forgetting his annoyance at being kicked awake.

"It's about time you woke up! It took me so long to find you! It's bad." Sode No Shirayuki says, without answering his question.

"You…woke me up?" Zangetsu asks softly, even as he feels himself drawn to the woman in front of him in ways that are beyond his understanding.

"Yes!" Sode No Shirayuki yells, as she feels the battle coming to a head. Zangetsu realizes at that moment that she woke him up because things are really bad. The kid doesn't seem to be holding up too well against this opponent.

"I'm still tired…" Zangetsu mutters, even though he doesn't want to close his eyes, because then he wouldn't be able to stare at the beautiful woman in front of him anymore.

With her long black hair, and crystal blue eyes, she makes a striking woman. She's not very tall, but she's so graceful, he thinks he would like to watch her dance. She is more perfect than he ever imagined possible. He doesn't want her to leave, and doesn't want to let her out of his sight.

"Do not even think about going back to sleep now." Sode No Shirayuki orders him, and Zangetsu just keeps looking at her.

It's at this moment that Ichigo slashes the opponent who is making it pour so hard that the inner world seems to be shaking and rattling from it.

"Don't worry…he won't die." Zangetsu assures Sode No Shirayuki, who gives him a look of surprise. He is mysterious and somehow amazing, and she doesn't want to go anywhere…she just wants to stay here, with him.

"That's good to know." Sode No Shirayuki says in a shaky voice.

"I really need to go back to sleep…" Zangetsu mutters with a yawn, but Sode No Shirayuki glares at him so angrily, that he's wary to close his eyes.

At the moment that Ichigo asks Rukia to let him be a Shinigami, a little while longer, the rain in his inner world suddenly ceases, and a bright light begins to shine into the windows of the room that they're in.

"So he survived…" Sode No Shirayuki whispers with relief. Zangetsu stands up, and Sode No Shirayuki realizes he's very tall. He rushes over to the window and looks out at the blue skies.

"It's so bright!" Zangetsu says, as he stares out at Ichigo's inner world. Sode No Shirayuki just watches him with a raised eyebrow.

"Probably because he won." Sode No Shirayuki says, but Zangetsu starts to shake his head no.

"That's not it. I'm feeling less tired suddenly. It seems he doesn't want me going back to sleep." Zangetsu says, and Sode No Shirayuki realizes that Ichigo isn't the only one that doesn't want him to fall back asleep.

"That's good," Sode No Shirayuki says, even as she realizes, she can't stop staring. Something about him is just so magnificent.

"Want to walk with me, outside?" Zangetsu says, as he turns to look at her, rather than the bright skies outside.

Sode No Shirayuki nods, and he walks over towards her, and she leads him out of the building. Once outside, she starts jumping up the sides of the buildings until she ends up on a roof, and Zangetsu is right behind her.

They stand side by side, and watch the clouds roll by, and Sode No Shirayuki, keeps stealing peeks at Zangetsu. He notices her apparent curiosity, and he is fairly sure that she is foreign to this world, even though her being here, feels so right. He thinks she looks very beautiful, and the sun makes it clear that her features don't only look flawless when it's dark and dreary around her.

"I am Sode No Shirayuki." She finally tells him her name, and Zangetsu stares at her, even as she stares up at the sky.

"I am Zangetsu." He tells her, and she gives him a quick glance.

"I belong to Kuchiki Rukia. She gave Ichigo her powers, in order to save the lives of his entire family from a hollow." Sode No Shirayuki explains, and Zangetsu nods his head.

"I thought you seemed foreign to this world, but it doesn't feel as if you don't belong." Zangetsu tells her, and Sode No Shirayuki gives him a look of surprise.

"I see." Sode No Shirayuki says softly, and she tries not to keep peeking at him.

"It's nice not to be alone." Zangetsu says in a low voice, and Sode No Shirayuki nods. She shares those sentiments completely.

"She must be glad. Life has been lonely, a long time for her." Sode No Shirayuki admits, and Zangetsu nods.

"I can feel it's like that with him too. This is the first time he's grown this close to someone. He closed himself off ever since his mother died." Zangetsu says in a low aching voice.

"You seem to be very aware of everything, even though you were dead asleep." Sode No Shirayuki tells him, and Zangetsu just stares at her, straight in the eyes. Sode No Shirayuki returns his intense stare and neither of them are willing to be the one who looks away first.

This is how they spend their time for quite awhile, not talking much and just staring at one another, soaking up the sight of one another, and just bonding.

Sode No Shirayuki flips out when Ichigo's inner world flashes suddenly, and Zangetsu starts pulsating with an insane amount of reiatsu. It's all because Ichigo is fighting a Menos Grande and his will is such that Zangetsu is lifted into the air as reiatsu pours relentlessly from his body and into the inner world, where it immediately flows out into the zanpakutou.

"What is happening?! What is going on?!" She shouts, even as she's given her answer.

_Damn it! He's released his power too fast! I can't believe this kid's natural ability to do whatever he wills, despite the fact that it's such a strong hollow._

The world starts to distort, and Sode No Shirayuki stares around in horror, and Zangetsu doesn't appear to be in too good of condition either.

"I'm not sure he can survive this!" Sode No Shirayuki yells worriedly, and that is when suddenly it seems like someone, or something, is releasing the extra energy that the kid is unable to control.

Then Sode No Shirayuki feels Rukia's feelings more strongly than usual, when she's in here. A sense of complete dread.

_Trouble is coming…now what will happen?_

Zangetsu falls back to the roof on his back, with his eyes closed, and Sode No Shirayuki falls to his side. He probably needs to keep his eyes closed for a little while and rest, and so she allows herself the luxury of running her hands through his hair. She stays at his side, staring at him in worry, until he yanks her down into his arms, and pulls her into his side.

She's amazed that the snow rushing off of her doesn't seem to bother him one bit, and it's amazing, just how much warmth she feels, wrapped up in his arms like this, and so she doesn't struggle at all. She lays there, in Zangetsu's arms, as he sleeps. They rest for a full day…maybe even longer, but it flies by when she lays in his arms.

Not once does she fall asleep, since something has been nagging at her ever since he fell asleep.

_Trouble is coming…will we be ripped apart? I don't want to leave him! I want to stay in his heat forever!_

Somehow she knows…that Rukia feels the same way about Ichigo. It's what made these feelings for Zangetsu so obvious, and impossible to ignore.

Then she feels it…the complete chaos and unease, spreading through Rukia's heart. She feels it so strongly and it begins to really scare her. She finally wrenches herself from Zangetsu's grasp and she starts waking him up.

He really is difficult to wake up…but when it starts to drizzle, his eyes slowly start to open, as though the rain has forced him awake.

"Things are really bad…" Sode No Shirayuki can feel it with every sense of her being.

"What do you mean?" Zangetsu asks, without really feeling worried. He's sure that he has enough power to assist Ichigo in any of his battles and to keep him from dying.

"You have to hide. In the deepest part of his soul…right now." Sode No Shirayuki says, when she feels the familiar reiatsu of Rukia's older brother.

"Why?" Zangetsu asks, but the look on her face is very compelling and he begins to jump towards the very center of Ichigo's inner world and the building that stands there, to do as she commanded.

She follows him, and he's glad for that. He didn't want her to stay on the roof without him.

"I'm not so sure he can survive this battle…" Sode No Shirayuki says, when she realizes there is no doubt that Ichigo has gone to where Rukia and Byakuya are.

Zangetsu flies towards the ground and hurries into the centermost part of the building and Sode No Shirayuki stays with him.

"What's going to happen?" Zangetsu asks, since he's sure she has some idea. She closes her eyes and sighs. She knows that their time together has come to an end, no matter how much she doesn't want it to be true.

"I won't be able to stay much longer…and Rukia's life is now in danger." Sode No Shirayuki whispers, and Zangetsu's eyes widen.

"I can't live and never see you again!" Zangetsu says forcefully, and Sode No Shirayuki gives him a soft smile.

"I can't live if you die." She whispers. Zangetsu pulls her into his arms.

"Then you'll stay here for as long as I can keep you here." Zangetsu tells her as he holds her close.

"Farewell…my love." Sode No Shirayuki says softly, since she knows the time has come.

"I love you too much to let you go…" Zangetsu says, but in that instant, she vanishes out of his arms…out of his grasp…and out of his reach.

The rain starts to beat down on him, really hard. It's unforgiving, cold, and painful. It's nothing like the soothing feeling of her snow, that gave him so much happiness, in the short time that she was here with him.

_Being alone…in the rain…sucks. _

He can feel Ichigo's will to live beginning to fade away, and his despair is equally as strong, just like his love for Sode No Shirayuki is equally as strong as Ichigo's love for Rukia.

_If I can never see her again…then I am okay with dying._

He knows that he and Ichigo have these thoughts in unison. Zangetsu closes his eyes and fully expects the darkness to completely overtake him in a short amount of time. None of his reiatsu can get out of this inner world, and she is out of reach.

Once again, he has been rendered dormant, and he didn't think death would take this kid so young. Not with all of their power.

It would be so easy to let the water raise until the world is nothing but a vast ocean with buildings underneath…but amazingly something…happens.

Zangetsu's eyes pop wide open, and the rain stops falling, and he hears Ichigo's thoughts clearly.

_I can save Rukia! I have a way to go and save Rukia! I will save her or die trying!_

Zangetsu nods his head in appreciation. Nothing would please him more.

_I'm with you all the way. We will definitely save Rukia…no matter what._


	19. As Requested: Babysitting

_**A/N- I had a request to do a story where Ichigo and Rukia baby sit Ishihime kids. This is dedicated to the person that requested it! Ichigo and Rukia are married for this, and so are Ishida and Inoue. **_

_**I also wanted to mention again, since I've noticed new people alerting this story, that I have another collection of one shots with the same title, minus the 2 at the end, so if you want to read more, there are over a hundred chapters in the original BlacknwhiteIchiRuki story.**_

_Babysitting _

"Rukia...did you have to volunteer us both for this?" Ichigo complains, as they knock on the door to Ishida's small two bedroom apartment.

"Of course! You did not sufficiently explain what it's like to take care of a baby in the living world, and so I'll find out firsthand, and you'll be there to make sure I don't get in over my head." Rukia explains, and Ichigo fights the urge to roll his eyes.

"What makes you so sure that I know what I'm doing?" Ichigo asks in an exasperated voice, and Rukia starts to look panicked.

"What?! Why did you wait until now to tell me that?! What are we going to do? We'll end up doing a soul burial on their child before they even make it back from their date!" Rukia says with big round eyes, and suddenly Ichigo feels a bit like an ass.

"We won't be giving her a soul burial." Ichigo says confidently.

"If we do...you have to be the one to break it to them!" Rukia says in a loud voice, right as Ishida Orihime answers the door.

"Welcome!" Orihime says with a big smile. "I can't thank you enough for coming over here...we really need this night out." Orihime tells Rukia and Ichigo.

"As long as you don't mind coming home to no ba-" Rukia is unable to finish her sentence, because Ichigo claps his hand firmly over his mouth.

"Don't pay her any attention. How late will the two of you be out?" Ichigo asks quickly, since he doesn't want Rukia warning Orihime that she may come home to no baby at all.

Luckily, Ishida's wife is such a birdbrain that she never even notices where Rukia had been heading with her statement.

"What's the latest you can stay here?" Orihime asks hopefully.

"There's no need to rush back. Stay out as late as you like." Ichigo says, and Rukia starts to feel mighty concerned. Did he forget that neither of them know how to take care of an infant?

"Shina has already been bathed and fed, but let me show you the bottles, and where we keep the diapers." Orihime says, and Rukia follows behind her, feeling a knot in her stomach.

Ichigo follows behind too, since he's sure Rukia won't remember a thing that she's told.

"How often does she need a bottle?" Rukia asks worriedly, and her friend smiles at her.

"If she cries, try a bottle. If she acts like she's not interested, check her diaper. If she's still fussy after that, just cradle and hold her until she settles down." Orihime says, and Rukia just nods her head dumbly. Somehow it feels like she wasn't given a proper answer to her question.

"Oh." Rukia mutters, and Orihime smiles as she leads them into the nursery. She shows them the changing table, diapers, powder, and diaper rash cream first. Then she shows Rukia where they keep the baby clothes.

"Sometimes, after a stinky diaper, you'll want to change her clothes." Orihime says, and Rukia suddenly looks happy.

"I want to put her in the bunny outfit that we got for her right after she was born!" Rukia says excitedly, and Orihime smiles.

"It's in the bottom drawer." Orihime tells Rukia, and Ichigo rolls his eyes. Rukia yanks her backpack off and pulls out a camera to show Orihime.

"I want to take a picture of her in it! If it turns out great, I'll blow it up to a bigger size and make a copy!" Rukia says with bright and cheerful eyes.

"Poor kid." Ichigo says, feeling sorry for anyone who has to wear a bunny costume to satisfy Rukia's obsession.

He has sworn her to secrecy on the rabbit costume that she had purchased for him, which he has to wear whenever he really makes her mad, in order to earn her forgiveness. She doesn't truly forgive him either, unless he hops up and down like a rabbit in front of her and apologizes sincerely. She can never stay mad for very long when he's in that damned costume, and it has a one hundred percent success rate in getting Rukia into bed.

Ichigo had glared at her angrily when she had bought the costume for Shina and had threatened to burn his own costume if she mentioned to anybody that he has to wear one sometimes, too. It had further pissed him off when he realized he could never burn it…not with a one hundred percent success rate at getting her into bed! He had been forced to believe that Rukia would not divulge something so very private and between only the two of them. Even Kon has never seen Ichigo wear it.

Nobody had understood why Rukia had smirked when she had given Ishida and Orihime the present. Nobody had understood Ichigo's deathly glare either. It was a mystery, why they acted so oddly, whenever the subject of the baby's rabbit costume was brought up.

Everyone assumed they'd argued over whether or not it was the right present for their friend's baby. Nobody ever imagined that Ichigo had a much larger version of that costume, hidden in the back of their closet, in their bedroom. He would not be a citizen of Japan for very long after the fact, if people did find out about it, either.

Rukia looks around curiously.

"Where is Shina?" She asks her friend, and Orihime grins.

"Ishida was walking around here holding her before you got here. She's going to be ready to go to bed soon, so you shouldn't have too many difficulties." Orihime tells them, and Rukia's face falls.

"Already?!" Rukia asks, and Ichigo rolls his eyes again. Orihime smiles at Rukia.

"When they're this young, they sleep a lot. Plus I opted to not let her nap this afternoon so that you wouldn't have a hard time while we were out." Orihime tells them, and Rukia just nods.

_Well, if she spends most of the time sleeping, it's far less likely that we'll screw things up._

After ten more minutes of explaining things, Ishida brings the baby into the nursery, hands her to Rukia, and the happy couple head out.

Rukia has held Shina before, but this time, the little girl seems to be entranced by Rukia's hair. She grabs a fistful of it and yanks really hard.

"Quit that!" Rukia says, and Ichigo smothers a laugh. She's talking to the baby like it's a normal person, when most girls would coo and talk baby talk to it.

Shina pays Rukia no mind, and begins to repeatedly yank on the thick silky hair that she has firmly in her tiny fist.

"She's already giving hell to Shinigami when she's just an infant…she's going to be one hell of a Quincy." Ichigo says, and a chuckle makes its way out of his mouth. Rukia glares at him.

"It's not listening to me at all!" Rukia tells him, and Ichigo laughs. It's like she's never been around a baby before.

"She doesn't understand you." Ichigo says, but he scowls when Shina is suddenly staring very obviously at his hair. Her face lights up into a huge smile, her deep blue eyes sparkle and dance, as she stares at his brightly colored hair, and reaches her hand out like she wants to touch it.

"Hmmm, looks like my hair isn't the only thing she finds interesting." Rukia comments, and Ichigo glares at Rukia.

"Shut up." Ichigo growls, but he can't really be mad at his wife, she looks awfully cute holding the baby.

With Shina's deep blue eyes, and dark colored hair…it's almost easy to imagine that Rukia is holding their own daughter, and not Ishida's daughter in her arms.

Suddenly Rukia looks like she wants to gag, and she rushes to the changing table where she sets down Shina very gently and backs far away to the opposite side of the room.

"Something is wrong with that baby. It smells worse than the stench of a rotting corpse, I'm afraid we're going to have to give it a soul burial in under an hour. I'm positive that child is rotting from the inside out." Rukia announces, and Ichigo's eyes widen in shock.

Usually, women act so natural when a baby gets a stinky diaper, but Rukia truly appears to not want to have anything to do with Shina at this moment. Ichigo frowns at her.

"There is nothing wrong with her, she needs a fresh diaper." Ichigo explains, and Rukia just stares at him.

"Ichigo, I have smelled the bathroom after you've left it. This is something far more foul, it can't possibly just be human waste that is making me want to throw up dinner." Rukia says, and Ichigo glares at her for bringing up the bathroom after he's used it.

The first time she had ever walked into the bathroom right after him going number two, she had screeched and run out of there, panting for air. Then she had insisted that Isshin come over and give his son a physical. She had said something along the lines of _It was so strong, I'm sure there's something wrong with him! _

Isshin had laughed for ten minutes, and Ichigo had been very pissed off.

"Not all of us can leave the bathroom smelling like flowers." Ichigo grumbles as he takes pity on Shina. "Don't mind Rukia, she's nuts. Normal humans have stinky poo…_holy mother of god_!" Ichigo was feeling so good until he caught a full whiff of Shina's doo-doo.

On the other side of the room, Rukia gags, and steps out into the hallway.

"Are you sure that kid isn't rotting from the inside out?" Rukia asks as she holds her nose.

"This is some sick shit." Ichigo says, as he gags and wonders how in the hell he's supposed to finish this without throwing up for real.

"Oh gross! I can smell it all the way out here! I'm going to go lay down before I pass out from the smell!" Rukia announces as she flees down the hallway. Ichigo scowls at the empty doorway.

"Real fucking nice!" Ichigo shouts, before he gags again.

He quickly cleans up the baby, and then he glares at the bottom drawer. He knows Rukia wants a picture of the baby in the rabbit costume…but it feels wrong for him of all people to dress a baby in one of those. Even though his own costume is likely to be involved when they finally conceive for themselves.

He decides to let Rukia change her into it, if she wants a picture that bad. As far as Ichigo's concerned, he doesn't need that picture to be taken or displayed anywhere in his home. Ichigo carries Shina to where Rukia is sitting on the couch, and she sniffs the air cautiously as he approaches closer to her.

"Ichigo…you fixed her?" Rukia asks in shock, since she can no longer smell that scent that reminds her so much of rotting flesh.

"There was nothing wrong with her! Jeez Rukia, you are so weird when it comes to humans shitting!" Ichigo snaps, and Shina starts to cry. "Damn it!" Ichigo mutters, and he sits next to Rukia, who takes the baby from him.

"I'm sorry I thought you were a goner." Rukia says quite seriously to the baby, and Ichigo rolls his eyes. He never thought that talking normally to a baby could seem so weird. Shina quiets down though, and stares at Rukia.

"You're talking to her like she understands you." Ichigo finally says, and Rukia looks at him in surprise.

"Is there something wrong with that?" Rukia asks curiously.

"Most people don't talk to infants like they're another person who understands everything they say." Ichigo explains, but Rukia doesn't appear to understand it at all.

"I'm not sure I even want to ask this…but how do most people talk to infants?" Rukia asks, and Shina giggles as she successfully grabs Rukia's hair again. Rukia tries to pull her hair out of Shina's hand, but the kid has the hair wrapped in her fingers and tiny fist.

"Well…I guess you would say they dumb it down, and they don't use complete sentences. And they would use a higher voice." Ichigo says, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"My schoolgirl voice?!" Rukia asks, and Ichigo scowls at her.

"No! Not even close to it!" Ichigo snaps, and Rukia laughs.

"Hey, Ichigo…do you really think we could handle one of these?" Rukia asks as she nods her head towards the infant who continues to yank on her hair. Ichigo smiles.

"We've handled things much more difficult. I'm sure you'll make a great mother." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia smiles.

"About the diapers…" Rukia mutters, and Ichigo sighs.

"I'll do it when I'm home, and I'll get you an air filter mask for when you have to do it." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"Maybe our baby will be like me, and not have horrendous smelling poo." Rukia says, and Ichigo rolls his eyes.

"Keep dreaming." He tells her, and Rukia notices that the hair tugging has stopped.

"She's sleeping!" Rukia whispers, and Ichigo holds out his arms. Rukia transfers the baby into his arms and he walks her to the crib. He lays her gently inside of it, and Rukia walks up next to him.

"We can start trying when we get home," Ichigo whispers, as he leans over to kiss her ear.

"Only if you wear the costume. I want to see someone dressed up like a rabbit today." Rukia says, and Ichigo rolls his eyes.

"Don't talk about that unless we're alone in our own home." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia smiles.

"If you wear it, I'll wear the nurse outfit you bought for me…" Rukia says, and Ichigo starts smiling at the thought of it.

"Deal." Ichigo says, and then they go back to the couch. They turn on the baby monitor and make out until Shina's parents finally get home.

"How was it?" Orihime asks, and Rukia grins.

"She's still alive!" Rukia exclaims, before she pulls Ichigo out the open door. This of course causes Ishida and Orihime to dash to the nursery, just to be sure, and they both sigh in relief that Rukia's words were definitely true.

"Something tells me that they had a difficult time," Orihime says, as she smiles at their infant. Ishida shakes his head.

"I don't even want to know…"

Ichigo and Rukia run home with thoughts of rabbit costumes and a sexy nurse outfit on their mind.

"If it's a girl, I want to name her Rini!" Rukia says with a giggle, and Ichigo glowers at her, even though he can't wait to see her in the sexy outfit that he got her.

"Over my dead body!" Ichigo shouts, and Rukia giggles since he still hasn't figured it out in six months of marriage.

_You know I always get my way!_

**A/N-****Rini: Little Bunny**

**Shina: Virtue, Good **


	20. As Requested: Rukia's Drawings

**A/N-I had a request to do an Ichigo and Rukia story where they do a lot of bickering. This chapter is dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Rukia's Drawings_

Ichigo isn't exactly aware of what has been bothering him lately, he just knows that he feels on edge. It could be the inner hollow, it could be the fact that he has never had a girlfriend in his life, or it could be the fact that he hasn't been able to stop noticing how sexy Rukia is. He's always known that she was attractive, he's always thought her face was mesmerizing.

He never thought that his feelings would come so far that he actually wants her to stick around until he has to leave the living world himself. He dreads and fears the day that she tells him that she has to go back to Soul Society.

He overheard Yoruichi-san and Urahara-san talking about the fact that there are limits on how long Shinigami can stay continuously in the living world, and that had been two months ago. With each day that passes, he gets another step closer to when she'll leave his world again. It's more than depressing.

His defense mechanism is to argue with her, it doesn't matter what about, because when she's gone…he'll lose all of his colorful arguments. It's no fun arguing with Ishida or Tatsuki. It's only fun when he argues with Rukia. Ichigo sighs as the bell rings, and he watches Rukia out of the corner of his eyes, as she slides her schoolbook into her bag and grabs the bag to leave.

"I can't believe you actually had your book out today, usually you don't bother." Ichigo says as he falls into step next to her. Rukia grins and slides the book back out and opens the cover, and Ichigo sees all kinds of loose pieces of paper, with her sketched rabbits plastered all over them.

"I've seen preschoolers with more drawing talent than that," Ichigo says with a look of disgust at her typical rabbit drawings, even though he secretly has one of her rabbit sketches folded up really small in his wallet, in a hidden compartment.

"You talk a lot of shit…and I've never seen you draw anything! Could it be…that you're less talented than me?" Rukia asks with a raise of her eyebrows, and Ichigo sputters at that comment.

"Rukia…_nobody_…and I do mean _nobody_ could be worse at drawing than you are. You have no talent." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia's eyes narrow. He didn't have to go _that_ far.

"Like I said…until you can show me up, you have no room to talk!" Rukia snaps, and she begins to walk faster. Ichigo keeps up with her easily, since his stride is much longer than hers is anyways.

"I just don't understand why even though you suck at it, you keep on drawing. How you can show anybody your crappy drawings without being embarrassed, is a mystery to me." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia glares at him out of the side of her eyes.

"My drawings are cute!" Rukia nearly shouts, and a few students glance over at her in surprise, not that she cares or notices, because a certain orange haired teenager has gotten on her last nerve.

"If by cute, you mean awful, then you're absolutely correct!" Ichigo says, and Rukia brings her elbow around into his stomach very hard, causing Ichigo to double over in pain.

Rukia keeps on walking, and Ichigo has to hurry to catch up to her.

"If you're going to insult me again, I'm going to kick you." Rukia threatens, and Ichigo considers whether or not it's worth it.

"Do you have to be such a violent bitch?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia glares at him some more.

"When you get on my last nerve? Yeah!" Rukia replies, and Ichigo smirks.

"You say that like it's hard to get on your nerves." Ichigo says, and Rukia feels like punching him. Keigo unwisely walks up behind the arguing pair and flips up Rukia's skirt to reveal black underwear with white rabbits all over them.

Rukia gasps and Ichigo decks Keigo before Rukia can do it herself.

"Damn it Ichigo! Why did you do that?" Rukia shouts as Keigo lays in a daze on the floor.

"What do you mean why did I do that? That pervert flipped up your skirt!" Ichigo shouts back, and Rukia slugs him in the gut.

"I wanted to punch him!" Rukia shouts, and Ichigo stares at her, openmouthed, clutching his stomach, before he roars back at her.

"So punch him! Don't let me stop you!" Ichigo makes a waving gesture towards Keigo and Rukia stomps away from him.

"You're such an annoying jerk!" Rukia yells before she takes off running. Ichigo goes to Keigo and squats down before he grabs his friend by his hair.

"You will no longer be my friend, if you ever touch Rukia again. Next time, I'll beat you to a bloody pulp." Ichigo says in a hard tone, and Keigo nods his head fearfully.

"Sorry Ichigo…I wouldn't have done it if I'd known you were dating-" Keigo is unable to finish, because Ichigo socks him in the face again.

"Dating, my ass. How can I date her when she could leave any day?" Ichigo mutters, before he realizes Rukia ran way ahead of him while he threatened Keigo.

Ichigo walks home alone, and doesn't try to catch up to her. It's like a preview of how things will be when she leaves, and he finds himself in a very shitty mood when he gets home.

Ichigo walks up to his room, and when he enters his room, he's greeted by sketches and drawings of rabbits, obviously done by Rukia, taped up all over his walls windows, and even the ceiling.

"Damn it! Rukia!" Ichigo roars at the top of his lungs, and he can hear her laughing gleefully, in Karin and Yuzu's room, so he drops his bag and stomps over to the room and flings the door open. Rukia's face is buried in her pillow as she keeps on laughing. She lifts her head up and looks at him, and it annoys him that her face is bright red from laughing so hard.

"Something wrong Ichigo?" Rukia asks it super innocently, and Ichigo crosses his arms.

"Take every last one of them down. Now." Ichigo orders her, and Rukia lifts an eyebrow.

"No." Rukia says, before she turns her head away from him, to ignore him.

"I'm warning you…" Ichigo says in a hard voice, but Rukia turns her head and sticks her tongue out at him.

"You must be demented. Your room is much improved with my artwork all over it. You should be thanking me." Rukia says, and Ichigo exhales a large breath of air, in an angry rush.

"I'll thank you when you put every last crappy drawing in the trash where they belong!" Ichigo is practically screeching. Rukia lets out an unladylike snort.

"Unlikely." Rukia says, and Ichigo stomps over next to her bed and glares down at her.

"I'm not kidding Rukia. Get them out of my room now! How long did you spend drawing all of those, and planning this anyways?!" Ichigo asks before he gasps. Rukia's gaze snaps up to him when he does that and she watches as his eyes widen in understanding.

_She did it because she's leaving._

"Ichigo?" Rukia asks, since she can't even comprehend the horribly hurt look on his face before he clenches his hands into fists and then turns around and slowly walks out of the room.

"Never mind. I'll take them down later." Ichigo mutters, before he walks out of his room and downstairs, to sit on the couch.

Rukia stares after him in confusion. She has no idea what in the hell just happened. She decided a month ago to get him back, for calling her drawings crappy all of the time, and she had started saving all of her sketches and drawings of rabbits in various poses and costumes, specifically to cover his room in her so-called crappy drawings.

At first, his reaction was as she had expected, but she can't get the hurt look in his eyes out of her head. She hunts him down until she finds him on the couch, laying there with his eyes closed.

"Leave me alone. I have a headache." Ichigo mutters, since he knows she's standing there looking at him. She's probably going to say goodbye now.

"Now you're claiming my drawings give you headaches?" Rukia asks, as she frowns at the very thought of such madness. Her drawings have always made people smile.

"No…you give me headaches." Ichigo says in a snappy voice, and Rukia glares at him, not that he can fully appreciate it, since his eyes are closed.

"Is that why you call out my name in your sleep?" Rukia asks him as she crosses her arms. Ichigo's eyes snap open and he turns completely red.

"What did you just say?" Ichigo is up to his feet hovering over her and being very loud.

"You heard me." Rukia snaps, and Ichigo glares at her.

"I do not call out your name in my sleep!" Ichigo roars, and Karin walks in the front door.

"I could hear you clear outside Ichi-ni. And yes you do call out her name in your sleep. Practically every night." Karin informs him before she heads for the stairs and disappears.

"I don't believe that for one minute." Ichigo shouts, loud enough for his sister to hear.

"Dad has it on tape!" Karin shouts from the top of the stairs, and Rukia smiles smugly as Ichigo looks completely traumatized.

"Very funny. Did you pay her to say that?" Ichigo asks, and Isshin walks through the front door next.

"I could hear you clearly in the clinic, and you should know son, that you've been calling out her name in your sleep every night, since right after your sixteenth birthday." Isshin says with a laugh.

Ichigo's mouth opens and closes like a fish, before he gets even more defensive.

"Bull! Why would I call out the name of a runt like _her_?" Ichigo asks with a sneer, as he points at Rukia disdainfully.

Rukia gasps and knees him in the stomach sending Ichigo back down onto the couch before she stomps up the stairs. Isshin walks in the family room a minute later with an old tape recorder and presses play.

Ichigo's face turns redder than a tomato when he finds out that nobody was lying to him. He hears himself calling out her name desperately…and he sounds so needy…and in love.

"I think you owe Rukia-chan an apology." Isshin says quietly, but Ichigo just glares at the wall and crosses his arms.

"Like hell I'll apologize!" Ichigo snaps, even as he realizes that like a lovesick fool, he's been calling out Rukia's name in his sleep. He feels like such an idiot.

Upstairs, Rukia is getting her revenge, by carefully sewing a rabbit patch that she bought with some of Ichigo's money to the outside of his school bag.

"It's like you forget that I'm not as young and naïve as you are! Enjoy your schoolbag, Ichigo!" Rukia says with a huff as she finishes up.

She flips his bag around so that the patch isn't immediately visible, and she smiles as she heads into Karin and Yuzu's room. Karin is at her desk doing homework, and so Rukia just lays down.

"Ichi-ni is an idiot. Are all guys idiots?" Karin asks and Rukia instantly nods her head.

"Yes. It's a fact that can't be escaped." Rukia says with an aggravated sigh.

"He'll admit it, one of these days." Karin says, with a nod of her head, and Rukia turns a bit pink. Ever since she started sleeping in here, both of Ichigo's sisters made sure they pointed out that they were sure their brother was in love with her.

"I bet we hear you squeal over a boy before that happens with him," Rukia says with irritation, and Karin laughs at that.

"It won't take him that long. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll figure it out tonight." Karin says, and Rukia sighs.

"I thought we kind of had a thing going…where we would argue like cats and dogs, but be happy while we did it. But he started acting weird today." Rukia says in a thoughtful voice.

"He's weird everyday." Karin objects and Rukia smiles without thinking at that comment.

"I know…but weirder than usual, and it was so sudden." Rukia says, and Karin turns around in her chair. She has a good idea of what's bugging her brother, but only because she knows Rukia is a Shinigami.

"How long will you stay here with us?" Karin asks her softly, and Rukia's eyes jerk in surprise to Karin.

"What?" Rukia asks, astonished that Karin was choosing to ask this particular question.

"When you're not looking…Ichi-ni stares at you like a starving man who sees a feast. When you are looking, he immediately picks an argument with you. When he sleeps, he calls out for you. Will he get even more pathetic when you leave?" Karin asks as she bites on the end of her pencil. Rukia's eyes widen at that.

"Today…I covered his room in my rabbit drawings." Rukia confesses, not answering Karin's question, since she realizes exactly how Ichigo interpreted her action. Karin smiles hugely.

"I have to see this!" Karin hops out of her chair and dashes down to her brother's room before she throws open the doors.

Her eyes widen when she sees drawings of rabbits pretty much everywhere she looks. Rukia even managed to tape a few to the ceiling. Karin's loud laughter causes Ichigo to fly up the stairs and glare at the girls, who tear off back to their own room, leaving Ichigo with his arms crossed, and grumbling as he glares after them.

Ichigo stares into his room, and then he backs up against the hallway wall, as he stares at the atrocity that is his room, as a result of Rukia's little stunt. He won't admit to anybody how hard it will be to remove each picture when she's gone. He doesn't even have the energy to go find her and argue with her. He feels totally zapped, so he stays put and shuts his eyes.

In Karin's room, Rukia sits on the bed and mutters in a hushed voice to Karin.

"I haven't told Ichigo yet, because I didn't want to scare him, but I'm here, until he goes to Soul Society." Rukia admits, and Karin's eyes get huge.

"Maybe you should tell him. He probably thinks you're going to leave soon." Karin says and Rukia nods.

"I don't know." Rukia says, imagining that Ichigo would take it as immaturely as he seems to take everything else.

"I think you need to tell him." Karin says again, and Rukia sighs.

"I'm going, I'm going." Rukia mutters, since she knows Karin is absolutely right.

She stops when she sees Ichigo leaning up against the wall, right outside of his bedroom, with his eyes closed. He looks so damned miserable.

"What is it Rukia?" Ichigo asks in a defeated voice, and Rukia squirms a little bit.

"There's something I have to tell you, and I hope you're not mad." Rukia says, and Ichigo lets out a big breath of air.

_Here it comes. She's leaving._

"I'm listening." Ichigo mutters, and he opens his eyes to look at her, to soak in every last inch of her appearance before she disappears for an undetermined amount of time.

"My assignment here in Karakura Town…won't end until you go to Soul Society, unless I specifically request otherwise." Rukia says, and Ichigo's eyes widen, and for an instant, she can clearly see the sheer happiness in his eyes at her words, but then he quickly masks it and stomps over to her to get into her face.

"You should have told me that sooner!" Ichigo shouts, right in her face.

"I thought you'd freak out if you knew!" Rukia snaps back in his face.

"I thought you were leaving!" Ichigo bellows loudly, and Rukia's eyebrow raises.

"And you were sad?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo turns very red before he gets in her face a little more.

"Not even a little bit!" Ichigo shouts before he marches in his room and starts tearing down the drawings that Rukia had decorated his room with.

"You ripped it!" Rukia shrieks, and Ichigo smirks at her.

"I don't care! How in the hell did you get these on the ceiling anyways? You can't reach that high, even with a chair!" Ichigo yells, as he turns his head away from her and grins hugely.

_She's not leaving!_

"You love my drawings!" Rukia yells, and Ichigo turns at her with a scowl in place.

"They suck!" Ichigo shouts as he rips a few more down.

"You're a liar!" Rukia yells, and Ichigo takes a deep breath before he yells again.

"If you never draw another picture again, I'd be thrilled!" Ichigo roars, and Rukia crosses her arms and glares at him, but he turns away to rip down a few more of her horrendous rabbit drawings.

"If I never draw another picture again, it's because I'm dead!" Rukia snaps, and Ichigo suddenly stills.

Rukia flinches when he appears to use shunpo in his human form, and he wraps his arms around her tight.

"Then I guess I'll just have to live with your crappy drawings, because you had better not die." Ichigo whispers into her ear, and Rukia can't stop being shocked, even as she hugs him back.

"I knew you loved my drawings." Rukia says with a grin. Ichigo hugs her tighter.

_You're right…I do._

Rukia and Ichigo hold each other for several minutes, and then they blush when they pull away from each other. Rukia runs off in embarrassment, and Ichigo blushes for a good minute before he takes down the rest of the pictures with a lot less vigor.

_The next morning…_

"Rukia!" Ichigo's voice sounds livid, and Rukia raises an eyebrow. She can't imagine what she could have done to piss him off this much, but then he flies down the stairs and points angrily at the rabbit patch that she sewed onto his bag.

"How did I forget about that?" Rukia wonders quietly as Ichigo glares at her angrily. He fails to notice his father and sisters are behind him, watching with interest.

"I may love your drawings, but I hate lame kiddy patches! What the fuck were you thinking?" Ichigo snaps, and Rukia can't stop smiling. Neither can his family behind him.

"Ichigo…you love my drawings?" Rukia squeaks, and Ichigo turns red as he realizes he never actually admitted that the night before.

He yanks on the patch and rips it off. He scowls at the mess of thread left on his bag and he tosses the patch at her before he flies out the door.

"Next thing we know, he'll be admitting he loves you!" Isshin says with a smile, and Rukia hurries out the door after Ichigo. She stares at him ahead of her and smiles quietly.

_I hope it doesn't take him as long as it did to admit he loves my drawings!_


	21. As Requested: Immortal Isshin 3

_**A/N- I had a request to do a part three to Immortal Isshin, and so here it is! It's dedicated to the person that requested it. Please enjoy!**_

_Immortal Isshin 3_

Rukia looks in the mirror, as she wears the ceremonial wedding robes, reserved for nobility. She wishes she could get married in a white dress, but she also thinks her colorful robes are just as beautiful as a wedding gown.

She has been so busy with the wedding preparations, that she hasn't seen Ichigo since yesterday afternoon. She had given him a passionate kiss before parting, since she pretty much knew she wouldn't see him again, until it was time to start the ceremony.

Ichigo's sisters had been brought to Soul Society, through spirit exchangers, so that they could witness the union between Ichigo and Rukia.

When Isshin had shown the girls around, Karin found herself wishing that she were existing in the death life along with Ichi-ni, rather than in the living world. It was strange for her, actually wanting to die so that she can really begin to live. Seeing the numerous Shinigami, definitely stirred something in her soul.

They were introduced to their newly found Uncle Kenpachi, and Karin got along with him immediately. Yachiru ended up liking both of Kenpachi's nieces, and Karin spent a lot of her day hanging out around the Eleventh Division.

Some bald guy told her that she was just like her brother, so she decked him in the face for that, and told him to shut his bald face up, making her quite popular among everyone in the Eleventh Division, except for Ikkaku, who still thinks she's just like her brother. He made sure he sat far away from Kenpachi's violent niece for the ceremony.

The turnout is astounding. They decided to have the ceremony at the Kuchiki mansion, and people from all over Soul Society have come to see the son of the King of Soul Society get married. There are endless crowds of people outside of the gates of the Kuchiki manor.

Ichigo and Rukia meet outside of the ceremonial hall, and Rukia's eyes widen at the sight of Ichigo, in traditional noble wedding garb. He looks wonderfully handsome in blue, and he looks extremely uncomfortable with the clothes. When he sees Rukia though, he forgets his own discomfort, because she looks like a porcelain doll in her ceremonial wedding robes.

Side by side they approach Isshin, and Byakuya who are standing together to complete the ceremony. Someone explained the branch thing to Ichigo, but he hadn't paid one bit of attention. He just imitates Rukia and manages not to make an ass out of himself.

The ceremony itself is actually very quick, and quite painless. It happens so fast that Ichigo isn't really even sure he just married Rukia. Ichigo turns and glances at his sisters, who seem equally confused and Ichigo looks at Rukia, who is smiling up at him.

"The prince of Soul Society, my son Kurosaki Ichigo and the princess of the Kuchiki clan, Rukia, have officially been wedded!" Isshin announces.

Ichigo's eyes widen as the a thunderous cheer begins, and doesn't calm down for several minutes. Ichigo doesn't notice the woman who was at the end of the front row stand up and walk directly behind him, but his sisters notice and their eyes grow huge.

"It's nice that the whole family could be together for your wedding day," Isshin says, as he smiles hugely at Masaki. He plans on keeping her in bed for a full day before he parts from her again.

"Congratulations, Ichigo." Masaki says, and Ichigo's mouth drops open, since he knows this voice. Ichigo turns around, and he's speechless to see his mother standing there, smiling proudly at him.

"Mom?" Ichigo asks in a choked up voice, and Rukia's eyes widen as she looks at the woman who has always had such a profound influence, on the man she just married.

"You didn't think I would miss my only son's wedding, did you? I wanted to meet the woman who could put that smile back on your face." Masaki tells him before she smiles at Rukia.

"It's an honor to meet you," Rukia says, as she bows to Ichigo's mother. Masaki bows her head in return.

Karin and Yuzu push past a few people and rush into their mother's arms. Ichigo smiles and wonders if he's going to start crying, since his throat feels like there's a huge painful lump in it. Too big to swallow down. He feels like his sisters…he too wants to hug his mother, but he can't. He is at Rukia's side right now.

Rukia feels her eyes watering up at the scene. Isshin looks too happy to be surrounded by his entire family, and since he knows it's only for a short while, until Masaki goes back to the royal dimension, and he and the girls go back to the living world.

"I'm really glad that you are able to be here. This day couldn't be more perfect." Ichigo says in a low and shaky voice, and Rukia smiles at her husband's show of emotion.

"We should go to the celebration together, as a family! Where in the hell is Kenpachi? Kenpachi!" Isshin shouts and Masaki elbows him in the rib. Isshin rubs it, but he can't stop smiling.

"You never change, my dear Masaki." Isshin says before he leans down and presses a kiss up against her cheek. Masaki smiles at Rukia and winks, when she sees the way her son's bride looks surprised at their interaction.

Somehow, Rukia always pictured Masaki as being a very reserved person, and maybe a lot like Yuzu. Clearly, Ichigo's parents interact similarly to she and Ichigo.

Rukia then notices that neither of the girls saw the action, and when she looks up at her husband, he has a smile on his face, and she's certain that he did see it. He glances down at her and smiles, and Rukia smiles back.

"You know…I'd be really pissed off if I woke up right now and discovered this was all a dream. It all seems too good to be true. My mother being here, on the day I marry you, it's more than I could have ever hoped for." Ichigo says very quietly, but Rukia was completely focused on him, so she heard every word.

"I'm really happy too, and you're not dreaming." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo smiles at her.

"You're going to have to pinch me to convince me." Ichigo says, and Rukia smiles up at him.

"Would a kiss convince you?" Rukia asks softly, and Ichigo turns red.

_In front of my family?_

Rukia doesn't let him think about it, she reaches up and pulls his head down to give him their first kiss as a married couple. Ichigo turns bright red when Rukia gets him right on the lips, but he kisses her back a little and she pulls away with a grin.

"Way to go, Rukia-chan! She fits right into the family!" Isshin exclaims, and Masaki giggles, but Karin and Yuzu are busy staring at their mother, soaking up the sight of her, since they know they'll soon have to part from her again. They know they're only here for a day, maybe two.

Kenpachi strolls over to the group with Yachiru on his shoulder and Isshin grins at him.

"Kenpachi, meet my wife. Masaki." Isshin says with a proud smile, and Kenpachi looks at her.

"Ichigo's mother eh? It looks like he takes after her side of the family." Kenpachi says, and Rukia almost laughs at the obvious relief on Ichigo's face to be compared to his mother rather than his father.

"Masaki, this is my little brother!" Isshin says, and Masaki's eyes widen in shock.

"Your brother!?" Masaki breathes, and she vaguely recalls him telling her a long time ago that he had a younger brother who went missing in Soul Society at a young age and was believed to have been eaten by hollows.

"Nice to meet you." Kenpachi says, before he grins at Isshin. "I can see why you decided to tie the knot." Kenpachi says, causing Isshin to beam at him.

"It will happen to you too, I'm sure of it." Isshin says, and Kenpachi puts his hand on his zanpakutou, causing Rukia to gasp.

"Lets get one thing straight…you better not go arranging any marriages for me. Got it?" Kenpachi says, and Isshin grins.

"Would I do that to my brother?" Isshin asks with a smile, and Kenpachi doesn't know what to make of that answer.

"You did it to me!" Ichigo bursts out, and Isshin laughs.

"Well it wasn't going to happen without me, you were intimidated by the fact that Rukia-chan was nobility." Isshin points out, and Ichigo grumbles.

"Come on, Rukia." Ichigo says, and Rukia grins as her husband attempts to leave his family behind, but everyone follows after them.

Ichigo and Rukia are nearly drowned in well wishes from everyone, and no matter where they turn, there is someone new, who wants to wish them well.

Karin is torn between staying at her mother's side and going to meet new Shinigami, since she's totally enthralled by them.

Yachiru finally grabs Karin's hand to drag her into some mischief, but Yuzu refuses to leave her mother's side for the duration of the evening, with the exception of dancing once with her brother, and once with her father. She danced with her brother when her father danced with Masaki, and she danced with her father when Ichigo danced with his mother.

Karin ends up pissing the hell out of Toushirou, when she sees him at the celebration.

She walks right up to him and gawks openly at his childish appearance, despite the fact that he obviously wears a captain's robe.

"Can I help you?" Toushirou says, with a vein popping out of his forehead.

"So there are no like…height requirements to be a captain? I really want to be one when I come here!" Karin says excitedly, and Toushirou clenches his fists together.

"Who exactly are you?" Toushirou asks in a tight voice, and Karin gives him a surprised look before she puts her hands on her hips and looks at him haughtily.

"I am Kurosaki Karin." Karin announces, and Toushirou's eyes bulge.

"No…I saw her earlier. You look similar, but you aren't her." Toushirou says, since Karin looks a lot more beautiful for her brother's wedding than what she would normally look. "She's not as feminine as you, go play your pranks somewhere else," Toushirou says as he dismisses her by turning away.

Karin pulls her arm back and punches him so hard he lands on the ground.

Karin looks around and realizes that quite a few people just saw what she did, and she's suddenly very embarrassed. She probably shouldn't sock anybody at her brother's wedding celebration…and this guy is a captain! A frighteningly strong class not to be toyed with.

She stalks off and grabs Yachiru's hand before she dashes back to stay near her father for the duration of the night. She can't believe she lost her temper, and hauled off hard enough to knock a captain from Soul Society on his ass.

"Captain! You were careless!" Rangiku-san says with a drunken giggle as she offers him a hand to help him to his feet.

"Shut your trap, Matsumoto." Toushirou growls as he peers around to find the little bitch that hit him. Girl or not he will return the favor.

"What did you say to get her to hit you?" Rangiku asks, and Toushirou brushes the dust off of his robes.

"She tried to say she's Kurosaki Karin. I told her to play her pranks somewhere else." Toushirou says in a bored voice, and Rangiku gasps.

"Captain! That girl was Kurosaki Karin!" She informs him, and Toushirou's eyes widen.

"Fuck! I can't hit her if she's a Kurosaki. Cheeky brat." Toushirou shakes his head. He has a feeling that if he tried to hit her, she'd wind up sitting on top of him in victory, and beat him as soundly as her brother beat Byakuya several years ago.

When he had seen her earlier, he thought she was the female version of her older brother, but he hadn't thought she'd be able to pull off looking beautiful.

"You should probably apologize, she looked pretty offended," Rangiku says, and Toushirou sighs.

"You're right." Toushirou says, and he works his way towards the main attraction, the married couple and their family.

Ichigo is staring down at Rukia, and he feels like his insides are jelly. He's actually married to her. Married to the girl of his dreams, and she's happy to be here, and be married to him.

_I have you…I'm really happy, for once, I don't want to stop smiling. Mom is here…Karin and Yuzu are here…and I never thought I could feel this happy._

Rukia can tell that Ichigo is more vulnerable to his emotions today than usual, since she can see it clearly in his eyes.

"Ichigo, can we dance?" Rukia asks, and he nods.

They walk over to the dancing area, and Rukia leans her head up on his shoulder. Ichigo squeezes her, shuts his eyes, and breathes slowly to really soak up the feeling of the complete happiness, that seems to have surrounded his entire heart.

Karin jumps about a foot when Toushirou appears behind her and asks for a dance. She breathes deeply, but nobody in her family seems to notice her current predicament. She nods her head yes, wordlessly and allows him to lead her out onto the dance floor. She notes with relief that her brother and Rukia are there, so she is fairly certain she's safe…for now.

"I wanted to apologize…you look so different than you did earlier. I didn't mean to insult you." He says, surprising her, since she figured he was the type of midget who would hold a grudge. He puts his hands on her waist, and she blushes.

"I should apologize too, I probably annoyed you," Karin says, and Toushirou grins at her as they dance together.

"We should start over." Toushirou says, and Karin nods as she smiles.

"I really do want to be a captain here someday. I can hardly wait to die." Karin says, and Toushirou gives her a weird look.

"Why is my sister dancing with Toushirou?" Ichigo asks Rukia suddenly, and she grins at him.

"I have no idea…do you want to cut in?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo scowls at her.

"You dancing with him would bother me more." Ichigo grumbles, and Rukia smiles.

"You're so possessive." Rukia says, and Ichigo grins.

"You've danced with enough other men tonight," Ichigo says in a firm voice, and Rukia laughs. She had danced with her brother and with his father, but that was all, besides her new husband, of course.

"You know I'm really happy, to be a real family with you." Rukia whispers and Ichigo hugs her closer.

"Me too, Rukia." Ichigo mutters and he closes his eyes.

_I love my wife, and to have the rest of my family here to share in our union is a dream come true. Nothing is better than being married to Rukia._


	22. As Requested: Consequences

**A/N-If Ichigo had been able to come home after a few days of training with the Vaizards, before the Espada attacked the living world, what would the conversation have been like between Ichigo and Rukia? I had a request to do this, so this is dedicated to that person. Please Enjoy.**

_Consequences_

Rukia senses it when Ichigo is on his way home. She has been skipping school, and so she just flies out of Inoue's apartment, and hurries to Ichigo's house, where she hops up into his window, sensing that he'll be there soon.

It's been days since she's seen him, and he didn't tell her where he was going, or what he planned to do. She had been so worried about him, until she had barely sensed him, in that place where Inoue came out of.

Once she had known he was okay, she had started hanging out more with Inoue, who seemed depressed. Inoue seemed to need encouragement, and with Ichigo gone, Rukia had more time on her hands than she knew what to do with.

She had been looking forward to quality time with Ichigo, but that damned Espada had to come and ruin everything, and take away all the confidence he had only just gotten back that same day.

Rukia looks out the window, and her heart speeds up when she sees the orange of his hair.

_Ichigo's back!_

Ichigo doesn't seem to want to deal with his family and so he hops up into his window the same way that Rukia had done, and when he sees her, he lands on the floor and looks at the floor.

"Rukia…" Ichigo says, and Rukia wonders why he sounds ashamed.

"Ichigo, I'm glad to see that you're not hurt." Rukia says with a satisfied nod of her head and a big grin.

Ichigo's eyes widen and he slowly looks up to meet her eyes. He was expecting her to be completely angry with him, the moment she saw him. He slowly starts to smile, and then he meets her gaze fully. Rukia's smile is still in place, and he wonders how she always manages to surprise him.

"I didn't think I'd be gone this long-" Ichigo tells her, but Rukia leans back and decks him in the nose. Ichigo screeches at that, and Rukia rubs the sting out of her fist.

"That was for making your sister cry. And for making me worry! How would you like it if I disappeared without a word, without a note, nothing?!" Rukia demands, and Ichigo hangs his head back down in shame.

_Yes…this is more of what I was expecting…_

Ichigo and Rukia look up startled when the bedroom door flies open. Karin and Yuzu are in the doorway, gaping at their brother who is holding his nose from Rukia's painful punch.

"Ichi-ni!" Karin exclaims, before she gets an angry look in her eyes.

Yuzu doesn't say anything, because she's sobbing too hard to talk. She rushes over to Ichigo and hugs him tightly as she cries and Ichigo realizes that Rukia had good reason to punch him, leaving her here to deal with his emotional sister…she's no better at dealing with this stuff than he is.

"I'm sorry I worried you. I didn't realize I'd be gone so long, and it wasn't possible for me to call home." Ichigo tells all three girls, but he looks at Rukia as he talks.

"I really am glad that you're okay. Don't go disappearing like that on me again, okay?" Rukia says, and Ichigo is surprised to hear her voice shake a tiny bit as she says that.

"It's a promise." Ichigo assures her, and Rukia looks so relieved that Ichigo feels worse about what he did to her.

If she had disappeared without a word…or even a note…he'd be extremely worried and pissed off. He would go crazy, worrying about her, and he'd be really hurt that she didn't at least tell him she was leaving.

Karin notices the intense way that her brother and Rukia are staring at each other and so she peels her sister away from her brother, and drags her out of the room, to give them time alone.

"Leaving me here with your family while you disappear…what were you thinking?" Rukia asks, as she walks over to his bed and sinks down onto it and sighs loudly.

"I swear if I had known I'd be gone longer than a day, I would have said something. I kept trying to rush things when I was there…but I really do feel bad. I won't do that to you ever again…and…I'll make it up to you." Ichigo says, and Rukia looks quickly up at him.

"I think I have a way." Rukia whispers, and she stares up at him intently.

"I'll do whatever you say." Ichigo says solemnly, and Rukia smiles at that.

"Good. It's been days since I've seen you, and I want a kiss." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo's eyes widen to huge orbs.

"K-kiss?" Ichigo asks nervously, and he freezes up.

"You said you'd do whatever I said." Rukia reminds him, and Ichigo blushes. He walks towards her and sits down on the bed next to her, still a bright shade of red.

"I didn't expect you to ask for a kiss." Ichigo says, with embarrassment filling his voice. This is not the type of scenario he imagined for his first kiss with Rukia. It's not like he can say so, but he wanted it to be more romantic than this.

"It's okay, Ichigo. You don't have to kiss me, just seeing you that uncomfortable is good enough. It's been a long week." Rukia says, as she looks away from him. She feels like her heart could burst, because he seemed so against the idea of kissing her.

"Hey! You can't play with me like that…what the hell Rukia?! I came over here to kiss you, and now you don't want a kiss?" Ichigo asks, since he doesn't think he'll ever understand women.

"It's not that…I just saw the look on your face, and I realized…I only want a kiss that you want to give." Rukia explains, and Ichigo's eyes widen. She had sensed that this wasn't how he had wanted their first kiss to be.

Ichigo feels very conflicted…it wasn't how he had wanted it to be, but now he doesn't want to leave this situation without kissing her, since she told him she wanted one. It's not like he doesn't want to give her what she wants, he just wishes the circumstances were different.

"Rukia…" Ichigo mumbles, and he turns red, since all of the things he _wants_ to say would sound so _stupid_ out loud.

"I know already. You're planning on leaving again, aren't you?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"Well…yeah but that's not what I wanted to say." Ichigo says, and he watches her lips go into a tight line.

"What did you want to say?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo stares hard at her for a minute and then he tries to smile, but he just manages to look completely nervous and terrified instead.

"I do want to…." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia raises an eyebrow.

"You do?" She asks, and he turns his head towards her. She stares at him and stays completely still as he brings a hand up to her cheek and begins to slowly lean in.

Ichigo's heart pounds, and he moves in slowly so that he doesn't accidentally miss and kiss her nose or chin. He wants to do this right. If the circumstances can't be right, the kiss damned well can be.

Rukia's eyes closes when his lips gently brush across hers, and when he's sure he's at the right spot, he really kisses her. His hand moves to the back of her neck, and then he grabs onto her hair, and kisses her senseless.

When Ichigo and Rukia finally pull away from one another, Rukia looks astonished, and Ichigo feels really proud of himself. He feels he had done great for his first kiss.

"Thanks…Ichigo." Rukia whispers, and Ichigo stands up and grabs his towel. She watches him walk out of the room, and then she touches her lips.

_I'm not mad anymore._


	23. As Requested: Tatsuki & Esteban

**A/N-I had a request to follow up the Going After Rukia story, which would make this the fourth chapter of the series. (chapters 2, 8, and 13 precede this one) This chapter is dedicated to those who requested it, since I had more than one request to continue the story, ****and also to Oblivious, for the use of his character, Esteban Gobernadorro. Please enjoy!**

_Tatsuki & Esteban_

"He hasn't stopped hanging around here at all! He just keeps watching Tatsuki too, and the whole thing is weird!" Ichigo says to Rukia, who just smiles at his temper.

"Tatsuki can take care of herself, I think she likes Esteban's attention." Rukia says and Ichigo scowls at that comment.

"That is too weird…don't say stuff like that. I can't even imagine that if I try! He's a fucking hollow, for crying out loud!" Ichigo says, not getting how she can remain so calm.

"He is really into her though." Rukia says, as she brushes her hair. Ichigo frowns at that.

"I didn't think anything would happen if I introduced them, but Tatsuki actually initiated a conversation with him! Why did she do that?! He kept me up late, yapping about her last night. I wanted to be with you…" Ichigo says in a frustrated voice, and Rukia laughs.

True to his word, Esteban had not come up to the window. He had however chosen a rock to throw up at Ichigo's window, rather than a harmless pebble. The glass had shattered and completely interrupted them right as he was about to slip his hands up her nightgown.

Then Ichigo had jumped down to yell at him, and had been sucked into a two hour conversation about Tatsuki, and how wondrous she is.

"It's Tatsuki's decision to make. You should believe in your friend." Rukia says, and Ichigo sighs.

"She doesn't know he's a hollow though. Am I really a good friend if I don't share that information with her?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia grins at his concern.

"Esteban will tell her if it becomes necessary for her to know. Right now they're only talking." Rukia says calmly, and Ichigo sighs.

"I just don't want her coming to bitch me out, when she learns the truth about him. She'd have every right to get mad at me for not telling her the truth." Ichigo grumbles, and Rukia grins at him.

"Tell her that it wasn't your secret to share. Tell her that Esteban saved our asses and we owed him the confidentiality that he asked for. She is sure to be understanding if you put it that way, should that situation ever arise." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo nods as he watches her continue to brush her hair.

"Still…for him to enroll in our class, was a bit much." Ichigo grumbles, and Rukia laughs as she finally puts the brush down.

"I did the same thing when I started staying here," Rukia says with a smile, and Ichigo turns a bit pink at that.

"But you didn't do it for the purpose of getting together with me, you did it because you had to stay close to me, since I had your Shinigami powers!" Ichigo says, and Rukia winks at him.

"Are you one hundred percent sure about that?" Rukia asks him, and Ichigo shakes his head at that.

"Quit trying to fuck with me, Rukia." Ichigo says, and Rukia grins at him.

"I would have never admitted it back then…but I think I have always wanted to end up with you." Rukia says, and Ichigo blushes some more.

"You didn't act like it…" Ichigo grumbles as he remembers the way she had constantly acted superior to him.

"I had to do that, you were a totally new Shinigami! I had to be tough on you, to keep you alive! It's called tough love!" Rukia says defensively, and Ichigo walks over to hug her.

"You took really good care of me…even when you didn't have much of your powers left. You gave my life meaning…and now you're my wife. You have given me everything I ever wanted or needed." Ichigo tells her in a heartfelt voice, and Rukia smiles broadly at his flowery words.

"Ichigo, we're going to be late for class…" Rukia says as she hugs him back. He squeezes her a moment more and then sighs as he pulls away.

"I can't wait until I finally graduate." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia smiles at him. They hop out his window and begin to hurry down the sidewalk.

"You want me to keep attending school with you, right?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo raises an eyebrow at her.

"What in the hell kind of question is that?! What else would you do?" Ichigo demands, and Rukia sighs.

"Don't get all bent out of shape. I don't mind coming to school with you, but I also thought I could help your father out in the clinic." Rukia says, and Ichigo gapes at her.

"What? You're not a doctor, Rukia." Ichigo says, and Rukia rolls her eyes at him.

"It doesn't matter if you're a doctor, when you have healing kidou. Your father understands the ability, he admitted that he killed the Grande Fisher to you. I bet he's cured people with kidou before too." Rukia says, and Ichigo shakes his head.

"You know, it actually could be useful, _after _we're done with school…but just so you know, my dad is a real doctor. He had to be, since he didn't have his Shinigami powers for awhile. If he did, Inoue's brother wouldn't have had to die." Ichigo says in a soft voice, and Rukia glances up at him.

"You still think about that?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo sighs.

"Sometimes. He was someone I watched die. He wanted to kill Inoue, and still…I didn't want to kill him! I knew he had been a real human. I had watched him die…watched his sister cry over him as he laid there dying…I had no desire whatsoever to kill him. I can't imagine what it must have been like for him…dying with his sister sobbing over him. I know I don't want to die like that. It affected me." Ichigo admits, and Rukia nods her head.

"I suspected as much at the time, though it did confuse me. I almost wondered if you were affected by the situation because of Inoue, which really wouldn't make a whole lot of sense, since you said you weren't close to her. The only answer that made sense to me for your hesitation in killing him, was that you identified with him." Rukia says, and Ichigo's eyes widen at her words.

"Rukia…I barely ever spoke to Inoue. I didn't have a real conversation with her until after you disappeared. She remembered you, when it had seemed like nobody else did. She said she wanted me to save your life, because she was your friend." Ichigo says, and Rukia raises an eyebrow at that.

Ever since Inoue's weird questions right before she got married to Ichigo, Rukia has been wondering if the big breasted girl harbored romantic feelings for her own orange haired hubby. Rukia has concluded that she does have good reason to suspect that her so-called friend does in fact have feelings for a very taken Kurosaki Ichigo.

Rukia hasn't confronted Ichigo or Inoue about it directly, but she realizes that she really wanted to hear what Ichigo had to say on the subject of Inoue, particularly when she recalls how he freaked out when Soul Society said she was a traitor.

"She's a precious friend now though. Things sure have changed, since I first met you." Rukia says with a laugh, and Ichigo senses that something is amiss. He decides to point out the obvious.

"Rukia…she's my friend because she's your friend. When Inoue said that she didn't want her friend to die, that meant you. That was the moment I considered her my friend. When I finally realized Renji was also your friend, he became my friend too…because he's friends with you. I would never try to alienate one of your friends." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia's eyes widen at the sweet words that just poured out of his mouth. He said everything perfectly!

"Ichigo…I really love you!" Rukia whispers as they hurry towards school.

"Damn you two sure are mushy when you think you're alone, aren't you?" Esteban says a bit lazily from behind them, and this causes the married couple to spin around and blush.

"Fucking A…how long have you been behind us?" Ichigo demands, with a pink face. Esteban laughs at Ichigo's expression.

"Since you came outside. You don't ever even turn around to see if anyone can hear you, and you are such lovebirds." Esteban says, before he flutters his eyelashes and holds his hands at his chest and speaks in a high pitched voice. "I really love you!" Esteban says, and Rukia turns red.

"I'll thank you not to do that ever again. If you're there, you can damned well say something!" Ichigo growls, a bit pissed off that Esteban turned Rukia's confession of love into a joke. She has only recently begun to say those kinds of things, and they mean a lot, since they're words that touch him to the bottom of his heart.

"Do we mock you when you go on and on about Tatsuki?!" Rukia demands, and Esteban finally starts to look contrite…though he looks far more contrite when he hears Tatsuki's voice behind him. Rukia smiles victoriously.

"You go on and on about me? What exactly do you go on and on about?" Tatsuki asks, and Esteban's eyes widen before he glares at the smirking married couple and then spins around to confront the goddess of his heart.

"Actually…" Esteban says, before he takes a deep breath and stares her right in the eyes. "…I go on and on about how magnificent you are, and how no other female can even compare to you. Not only are you beautiful, but you are a vivacious and stunning woman, both in your looks and attitude. No female has ever captured my attention in the way that you have." Esteban says, and Ichigo's jaw is on the ground.

_Did he actually just say all of that fruity stuff to Tatsuki!?_

"Uh…" Tatsuki says, at a loss for words…completely speechless. Rukia is in much the same condition and only lets out a loud breath of air as Esteban falls to his knee in front of Tatsuki.

"I'll do anything for you. Just say you'll become my girlfriend!" Esteban asks with his head bowed to her. Tatsuki just gapes at him. It's not like she can say no…

"Um…sure." Tatsuki says, and Esteban pops to his feet so fast that Tatsuki takes a quick step back and stares at him in shock.

"Do you want me to address you as Tatsuki-sama?" He asks her in a serious voice, and Tatsuki gets so red that Ichigo and Rukia can only stare, and blink their eyes rapidly at the scene.

"You don't have to go that far…" Tatsuki says, and Esteban smiles at her.

"Let me walk you to school. Then we can talk about how far I can go." Esteban says without wavering in his words once. Tatsuki lets out a tiny squeak, since his words could definitely have many different meanings, but she nods her head and walks next to him, leaving Rukia and Ichigo staring after them.

"What in the hell just happened?" Ichigo whispers in horror as he watches them get ahead of them.

"I have no clue…" Rukia says as she shakes her head in wonder. It sure didn't take Esteban that long to declare his feelings…unlike she and Ichigo.

They walk the rest of the way to school rather silently, both feeling a bit like they had been one upped by a fucking hollow. Ichigo keeps shaking his head and having the same thought over and over again.

_Tatsuki and Esteban…that's just fucked up._


	24. As Requested: Gallop

**A/N-I had an interesting request to do an Ichigo and Rukia story, based on the concept of galloping, since the current ending credits in the anime were done by Gallop. Here it is, I hope you enjoy it!**

_Gallop_

"Ichigo, where in the hell are you taking me?!" Rukia asks as the taxi drives further and further away from Karakura Town.

"It's a surprise." Ichigo says for the hundredth time, and Rukia sighs and then gives him a serious look.

"What about hollows that appear in Karakura Town?!" Rukia asks him. "Have you forgotten our responsibilities?!" Rukia demands. Ichigo sighs.

"Even Shinigami get days off from time to time, don't they?" Ichigo asks in an irritated voice. Rukia's eyes widen at that question.

"Well yeah…but we can't exactly take the day off from our duty." Rukia objects and Ichigo grins at her.

"Of course we can, since our friends will be watching out for hollows today. I already enlisted Sado and Ishida's help, and told them we wouldn't be around today." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"Oh…" Rukia says, and she's glad that he at least thought that far ahead before he decided to head out of Karakura Town.

Ichigo watches out of the corner of his eyes, as she finally seems to relax in her seat next to him. He always likes it best when she is next to him, which she usually is.

He hasn't told her about the dream that he had about his mother just a few nights ago. Ichigo had woken up in the middle of the night and had sat up at the realization that he had as he slept.

In his dream, his mother reminded him of what she had said to him a long time ago, as they participated in her favorite hobby of horseback riding.

"When you find the girl you love, you should take her horseback riding. Isn't it amazing, Ichigo?" His mother had said with her usual smile, and Ichigo had nodded happily.

"It's really fun, Mom!" Ichigo had replied back, with his own usual smile plastered to his face.

When he had been reminded of his words, his mother looked at him and smiled at him in his dream.

"So why haven't you taken her yet?" Masaki asked Ichigo, and his eyes had widened.

"Her?" Ichigo had asked with a gulp. His mother's smile had grown bigger and it warmed his heart as she answered him.

"Yes, her. Take the girl you love, horseback riding." Masaki had said, as she had disappeared. That was when Ichigo sat up sweating.

He hasn't ever actually admitted to loving a girl out loud, even if it's true that there is a girl that he does love. It took him a couple of days to get up the nerve to do exactly as his mother advised him to do so long ago.

Ichigo finally told his father that he wanted to take Rukia horseback riding, and Isshin had smiled and arranged everything for his son. Ichigo's heart is racing at the plan that he finally came up with. Not only are his friends going to protect Karakura Town today, but Ichigo has a confession to make to Rukia, while they go horseback riding.

Now he's sitting in the taxi with her, his hands are totally sweaty, and he's completely nervous about what he decided to do today. He hopes it doesn't blow up in his face.

Rukia stays fairly quiet for the ride, which isn't actually too far outside of Karakura Town. It's only a twenty minute ride, once they leave Karakura Town, and when they pull up to the riding stables, and get out, Rukia looks around in interest.

"Ichigo…what is this place?" Rukia asks curiously, and then she spots a beautiful horse. Her eyes get all wide a glossy as she smiles at him.

"I am taking you horseback riding." Ichigo mumbles, and Rukia looks at him a bit worried.

"I have heard of this…I'm actually going to ride a horse?" Rukia asks him excitedly, and Ichigo is unable to fight the smile that appears on his face as he nods at her.

"Yep." Ichigo says as they get out of the taxi. He pays the guy, and walks Rukia over to the stables.

Rukia wanders over to a stable with a beautiful brown horse, the same color brown as Ichigo's eyes, with a white stripe down the center of its nose.

"Wow…up close, you're even more beautiful." Rukia says, and the horse seems to understand her as it tosses its head back and shakes its mane prettily at her.

Soon, Ichigo is next to her, telling her that this is the horse that she'll be able to ride, which makes Rukia really happy. He doesn't tell her that the woman in charge was one of his mother's best friends, and that they're getting to ride the nicest horses in the stable.

Rukia waits patiently as the horse is saddled and the riding habit is strapped to the horse's head, and the same is done with an even larger completely black stallion. Rukia is given a helmet, and Ichigo helps her with the chin straps, as the horses finish getting prepared for their riders.

Ichigo doesn't want to admit that Rukia looks completely cute in the helmet either.

Rukia smiles at the woman who seems to be looking at her a lot, and she doesn't know what to make of the attention that the woman is paying attention to her, but before long, she has no reason to wonder about it, since Ichigo just helped her up onto her horse.

Rukia watches as Ichigo puts one foot in the stirrup for his horse and grabs a hold of the saddle and easily hoists himself up onto the huge animal.

"Rukia, for now, we're going to take it slow. Make sure you have a good hold on the reins, and then squeeze your legs to get the horse to begin to move." Ichigo instructs her and Rukia does exactly as he says, and the chocolate colored horse that she's on, immediately begins to move.

At first, it's new and strange to Rukia, but she gets the hang of it really quickly, and wants to go faster than a walk with him.

Ichigo and Rukia slowly push the horses faster and faster until they're trotting, and then cantering along the horse path that has been naturally created from the horses over the years. The trees are green around them, and the outside is alive with the sounds of small critters and birds.

"Ichigo! I want to go even faster!" Rukia says loudly with a laugh, as they canter along.

"But this is your first time, I'm not so sure that's a good idea!" Ichigo shouts and Rukia scoffs at him.

"It's not like I'll die." Rukia reminds him, and he grins.

"Alright, then we should gallop." Ichigo tells her and they both squeeze their legs again, to direct the horse to go faster.

Rukia realizes that this is the fastest they can probably go, but she doesn't mind. In fact she loves it. She keeps throwing Ichigo huge smiles as they gallop along the trail, enjoying the time horseback riding together.

"This is great! I love it!" Rukia shouts out with a happy laugh. The smile on Ichigo's face is very reminiscent of the smile he often wore when he went horseback riding with his mother.

Finally Ichigo calls out to her.

"We should slow them down, they probably aren't used to doing this much galloping!" Ichigo tells Rukia, who nods her head at him.

They quickly transition from a gallop to a trot, and then from there to a walking gait. They turn the horses to head back the way they came. Ichigo sees the big smile on Rukia's face and he takes a deep breath. He knows it's not good to be nervous while on a horse, since they're such sensitive creatures, but he's actually fairly comfortable on a horse, from all of the time he spent riding with his mother.

"This is so fun!" Rukia exclaims happily, and Ichigo looks at her.

"I used to ride with my mother a lot." Ichigo admits, and Rukia quickly looks over at him.

"Really?" Rukia asks curiously. He doesn't often talk about his mother, and now that he's brought her up, Rukia is all ears.

"Yeah. There was something she once told me, and I was reminded of it the other night in a dream I had, which is why I wanted to bring you here to do this." Ichigo says, and Rukia can't take her eyes off of him as they walk together on the horses.

"What was it?" Rukia asks, since she can't stop wondering what he'll say next.

"She told me that I should take the girl I love horseback riding." Ichigo says, before he blushes and looks at Rukia, who looks totally shocked.

"The girl you love?" Rukia whispers as she stares wide eyed at him.

"You're the only girl I've ever taken." Ichigo tells her as he stares at her, and Rukia starts to smile at him.

"I'm glad that you brought me here, then." Rukia whispers, as she blushes beautifully. There was no way she had expected a confession like this, and now all she wants to do is embrace him, but she can't since they're on the horses.

"There is no other girl I'd take horseback riding…unless it was one of my sisters…or daughters." Ichigo adds, and Rukia can't stop smiling. Ichigo's attention is fully on her and so she looks back at him.

"I don't know what to say…" Rukia says in a low voice to him and Ichigo looks fully at her, feeling very confident due to her blushing responses to him.

"I'm saying I love you." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia meets his eyes with her own big blue ones.

"I love you too, Ichigo. Always have…always will." Rukia says, and Ichigo turns red and smiles back at her.

They don't say a whole heck of a lot more, as they transition the horses into a canter for the ride back to the stables. Ichigo gets off of his horse first and then grabs Rukia's waist and pulls her off of the chocolate horse. The woman smiles and waves at them, and Ichigo takes Rukia's hand to walk over to the bench to wait for the taxi to arrive.

"I'm glad you're here, with me…that we found each other the way that we did. I can't help but to think it was destiny." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia grins at him and nods.

"I think so too." Rukia says and she watches as Ichigo's face moves closer to her own.

They sit on the bench and kiss each other for a minute and then pull away, still sitting close, and Rukia leans into Ichigo's side and sighs happily.

_If destiny gave you to me, then I owe destiny to love you, as much as I possibly can._


	25. As Requested: Whatever She Wants

_**A/N-I had a request to do a one shot where Rukia tells Byakuya her feelings for Ichigo and gets his approval, and then goes on to make love to Ichigo…so lemon alert! It's dedicated to the one that requested it, please enjoy!**_

_Whatever She Wants_

Ichigo lays in bed, remembering his first kiss with Rukia last night, along with the ones after his first with her. He hasn't been able to get it out of his head, just how great kissing her felt. It stirred far more in him than he ever thought possible.

All he wants to do now, is call her into his room to kiss her some more. The unfortunate thing is, that she has been hiding out from him today so far, and he hasn't seen her, since their hot kissing action last night.

Ichigo refuses to even allow for the possibility that maybe she regrets the shift in their relationship to something more than friends. He doesn't even want to consider that maybe she's changed her mind, about wanting to be with him. He only allows himself to believe that she's feeling embarrassed due to the change, and he won't let that bother him.

It had been so strange, the way everything had started out. It had been a totally normal evening, without any strange occurrences, and he had been in his bed, reading a book. Rukia was on his floor, but Ichigo didn't realize what she was reading. Turns out it was a Shakespeare novel from his shelf that he never noticed her grabbing.

Apparently she finished the end of one of the stories, though she never told him which one, and then she stood and walked over to the bed where he was laying.

He never even saw it coming.

One second he was immersed in his book, and the next, she's grabbing it and throwing it across the room. Ichigo had been so surprised that he'd only been able to let out a quick squeak of protest before she climbed into the bed and swung a leg over him, and was straddling him.

Ichigo's eyes had widened, since he knew he wasn't dreaming and Rukia quickly leaned down and began to kiss him. Ichigo couldn't push her away, because he didn't want to push her away.

He couldn't believe it, but he wrapped his arms around her and began kissing her back. Her hands stayed mostly in his hair, on his shoulders, or caressing his face, for the kisses that they shared the night before. She had pulled away after several passionate kisses and glared at him before she spoke.

"I love you, fool." Rukia had whispered, causing Ichigo's eyes to widen before she hopped off of him and dashed out of his room and down the hall to Karin and Yuzu's room.

Ichigo hadn't been able to move for five minutes after she disappeared. He was too shocked at what had just happened. When he was finally able to will his body to move, he saw that she had been reading Shakespeare.

So now he's been able to do nothing but replay their hot kissing in his head, since she still hasn't come back to his room since she left last night.

He's so caught up in the pleasant memory, that he fails to notice that what looks like cherry blossoms, flying past his window. When Byakuya appears at Ichigo's window, Ichigo sits straight up in bed, and stares with his mouth gaped open.

Rukia comes flying into Ichigo's room a second later and she opens the window for her brother to come in.

"Ichigo...do you mind giving us a minute of privacy?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo blinks twice.

_Perhaps someone didn't tell her this is my room! _

Ichigo doesn't really want to stick around since Byakuya's there, and he runs out as fast as his feet will carry him, without an argument. Rukia holds back a smile at that.

"What was the urgency, Rukia. Has something happened?" Byakuya asks as he studies her face carefully, and Rukia blushes.

"Ni-sama…last night I told Ichigo that I love him. I also kissed him." Rukia says very softly, and she watches her brother carefully for any reaction at all.

"Did he hurt you?" Byakuya asks in a dangerously soft voice.

"Oh no! Nothing like that, ni-sama! I called you here, because I wanted to know that you approve of my decision. I want to be able to tell Ichigo that he doesn't have to worry about you." Rukia tells him, and Byakuya stares at her for a minute, before he slowly walks closer to her.

"Rukia…" Byakuya says, and then he hesitates, before he comes to stand in front of her. "…if you love him, then I approve. I know you would never pick a loser." Byakuya tells her, and then he does something that he has never done before. He leans over and gently kisses the top of her head. "I believe Hisana would approve too." Byakuya tells her before he takes a large step away.

Rukia stares at him. He's never shown her that much affection before, and she isn't sure what to make of it. It was definitely something unexpected.

"Ni-sama?" Rukia says, since she remembers him only ever really touching her when she needed to be saved, or if it was absolutely necessary.

"I can't stay, but I still want you to call him in here and tell him I'll be spending the night." Byakuya says with a grin, and Rukia smiles widely.

"Ichigo!" Rukia calls out loudly, and it takes a minute for him to make his way upstairs, and when he comes back to his room, he isn't exactly pleased to see Byakuya still there.

"Rukia?" Ichigo asks, keeping his eyes on Byakuya.

"Ni-sama needs to spend the night." Rukia says, and Ichigo's eyes pop out of his head.

"What did you say?" Ichigo asks in a strained voice.

"I'm going to spend the night in here. That's okay with you, isn't it?" Byakuya asks, and Ichigo's eyes just stay wide.

"Uh…I guess so." Ichigo says, even as he throws Rukia a very pissed off look, but so quick that Byakuya wonders if he actually saw it at all.

"And no kissing while I'm here." Byakuya adds, and he watches Ichigo's face turn a deep shade of red.

"Of course not," Ichigo says hastily, in the same strained voice that he's been using since he's started to converse with Rukia's brother.

"Oh, that was worth it. Call me if you need anything, Rukia." Byakuya says, before he jumps out the window. Ichigo gets a very confused look on his face.

"What in the hell just happened?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia grins.

"Ni-sama was playing a trick on you." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo looks at her blankly.

"What? That sentence did not compute." Ichigo says, giving her a very puzzled stare.

"He's not really spending the night." Rukia clarifies, and Ichigo gets a look of relief on his face that Rukia can't help but to laugh at.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Ichigo shouts angrily, and Rukia keeps laughing.

"I wanted to know that he approved of me loving you." Rukia says, and Ichigo stares at her.

"So he approves?" Ichigo asks in a disbelieving voice, and Rukia nods.

"He said he knew I wouldn't fall for a loser." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo stares intensely into her eyes.

"What if he didn't approve?" Ichigo asks, since he has to know.

"Then I was going to tell him that I intended to pursue being with you anyways, and that he deserved to know that." Rukia answers, and Ichigo smiles.

"You never did tell me what brought on…everything last night." Ichigo says, and Rukia grabs his arm and drags him over to the bed before she pushes him down and climbs on top of him. He is helpless to do anything other than to let her.

"What do you mean? I thought I made it very clear." Rukia says, and Ichigo just gives her a dubious look.

"Out of the blue…for no reason…you just decided to pop up off the floor, kiss me and tell me you love me, and then run away until now?" Ichigo asks her with a raised eyebrow.

"It wasn't exactly out of the blue. I've wanted to do that to you for awhile." Rukia tells him, before she leans down to kiss him.

She's relieved, that kissing him seems to be the best way to keep him from talking. He soon forgets all of his confusion and questions as they deepen their kiss.

He doesn't need to know that she read a tragic love story in his Shakespeare book, about a couple that should have been together and had a hard time due to a family feud, and ended up dying tragically. It made her realize she had to kiss Ichigo right then and there, since some monstrous enemy could tear them apart in an instant.

She loves how he responds to her kisses, and it takes a bit of willpower to pull away from him. She stares into his eyes.

"I told you how I feel." Rukia says, and Ichigo blushes at her before he looks directly into her eyes.

"Rukia…everything you feel for me…I feel for you too." Ichigo whispers, and Rukia smiles. She leans back in to kiss him again.

Ichigo kisses her even more passionately after telling her that he feels the same way for her, and Rukia loves it. Ichigo wraps his arms around her and flips her over on her back so quickly that her eyes pop open from the surprise of seeing Ichigo above her looking at her purposefully.

"Ichigo?" Rukia whispers, and he gives her a terribly sexy smile.

"I'm not so great at saying how I feel…so I'm going to show you." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia gasps as he leans down to kiss her.

Rukia feels like she is bursting with happiness, since she would like nothing better than to let him show her exactly how he feels. He kisses her and he doesn't stop kissing her for a very long time. She is sure that kisses from him must be the same as being on a drug, since it feels so good.

She never imagined that tongue wrestling could be so fun, but it seems like they spend an hour, doing just that. Rukia lets out little moans as Ichigo slowly starts to explore her body, he gently pushes her dress up and explores the softness of her belly, and then runs his hands down her incredibly soft legs.

Ichigo loves the way she grabs at his hair, and rubs his back as they kiss. The feelings of her hands on his body is more enjoyable than ever before, since it's all he's focusing on, all he even cares about right now. Ichigo reaches back and grabs her hair before he presses a deep and passionate kiss on her lips. He feels her hands slide up to his head and run through his hair as well.

Rukia shivers when his hand travels up, over her belly and onto her breasts. She's never been touched there before and it feels very new, and exciting for her. She had no idea she could be so sensitive there until he started touching there.

Ichigo starts moving his kisses to other areas of her body, until her face is a beautiful mixture of need and passion. He pushes her underwear to the side to touch her in her most intimate of places while he kisses her stomach, and then he moves back up towards her mouth and kisses her there, even more. He nearly jumps off the bed when she reaches out to grab him, and starts to touch him in an exploratory and experimental way.

Ichigo is pretty sure that if she keeps touching him like that, he'll be giving her some homemade hand lotion. He grabs her hand and pulls it away and he begins to peel away her underwear.

"Ichigo…" Rukia's voice is shaky and Ichigo whips her underwear across the room and leans back down to kiss her as he starts to work his pants down. He pulls away and stares at her in the eyes.

"I'm going to make love to you." Ichigo tells her in a low voice, and she turns completely red at those words, but she doesn't give one word of protest so Ichigo quickly finishes relieving himself of his pants.

It doesn't take very long for Ichigo to start feeling intense feelings unlike any other that he's ever felt in his life, and all of a sudden, he doesn't think it will be so hard to say how he feels after all.

"Ichigo!" Rukia says as he moves around within her, and Ichigo lets out a long groan before he says it.

"God Rukia…I love you so much! Rukia!" Ichigo sounds so different from what she's ever heard him sound before, like even though he's finally given her the words she's longed to hear, she can tell he doesn't think they're good enough for her.

"Ichigo…" Rukia can't speak, instead she lets out a loud squeal as he starts to speed up and she can't think…let alone speak.

Ichigo lets out what sounds almost like a moan of pain…it's long and continuous, and he falls on top of her and Rukia grins at that. It doesn't take him but a couple of seconds to turn his head to face her and begin kissing her again.

After a few minutes he pulls away and gives her a look that she's never seen before. It's almost like a puppy dog loving look.

"Damn it Rukia…you're going to turn me into as big a lunatic as my father!" Ichigo says before his cute look turns into a scowl, and Rukia recalls Isshin going nuts next to the picture of Ichigo's mother.

"That's okay with me," Rukia says, thinking she wants Ichigo to love her as much as his dad loves his mom.

"No it's not okay…" Ichigo moans, even as he realizes…she's got him completely wrapped around her finger now. It's an unsettling feeling, since Rukia is capable of wanting anything in the world…and he'll now feel obligated to give her whatever she wants…since anything less than her happiness is unacceptable.

"Ichigo…I want ice cream." Rukia says, and Ichigo groans.

_It's already starting!_

"Okay…I'll take you." Ichigo says, and he shakes his head at himself.

He may as well get used to it, because being without her is not an option. Rukia smiles and she sprints to take a really quick shower before they head out. When she puts on a fresh dress and underwear, she grins at herself and then winks at herself in the mirror.

_He's finally all mine! Hook, line, and sinker._


	26. As Requested: Surprise, Surprise! 2

**A/N- I had more than one request to do a sequel to Surprise, Surprise! And so here it is! It's dedicated to everyone that requested it, please enjoy!**

Surprise, Surprise! 2

"I cannot believe that you managed to defeat my very powerful Espada. It must be true…that if you want something done right, you must do it yourself." Aizen announces to all of the Shinigami looking at him with animosity on their faces.

When Aizen puts his hand on his zanpakutou, Ichigo immediately shuts his eyes. When he opens them, everyone is no longer looking at Aizen…they're looking at him!

"He released!" Comes Mizuiro's voice. He can no longer help now. Tatsuki had her eyes shut until Mizuiro made his announcement, and now she opens them, and sees that everyone is turning towards Ichigo.

"Aizen! I will kill you!" Toushirou shouts as he flies towards Ichigo.

"No! That's not Aizen! That's Ichigo!" Keigo's voice is loud enough that everyone hears and immediately stops looking at Ichigo.

"Where is he?" Toushirou shouts, and Ichigo points towards Aizen's location, but because of the hypnosis, nobody sees it, since Ichigo still looks very much like Aizen to them.

"Here!" Tatsuki yells as she sends a kicking attack filled with reiatsu flying towards Aizen's location, and everyone sees where the kick head, and then dissipates from Aizen blocking her kicking attack.

Aizen looks a bit irritated, that everyone is looking back in his direction, and everyone starts sending attacks his way. Aizen uses shunpo to switch his location, and Ichigo heads towards him.

Aizen uses his hypnosis to make Ichigo look invisible to everyone as he fights him, but he doesn't allow for Rukia's strong feelings to get past that, and she can feel Ichigo's reiatsu.

"I can't even help him! I can't see the enemy!" Rukia shrieks in a frustrated voice, and Byakuya appears and puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Calm down, Rukia. He's going to end up having to unrelease and release again if he wants to get everybody under hypnosis." Byakuya tells her, and she nods, though glumly.

Even though she can sense Ichigo, and even his position, she cannot see or sense Aizen.

"Ichigo!" Rukia says in a soft voice as she stares towards his reiatsu.

"That bastard taking all the action again?!" Kenpachi's voice roars.

Suddenly Rukia feels Ichigo quickly back off from his position, and then a huge attack from Urahara flies towards what she presumes to be Aizen. Rukia is already released and so she decides to lend her assistance as well.

"Second Dance, White Ripple!" Rukia calls out and she combines her attack with the one that came from below from Urahara. Rukia feels Ichigo switching locations again, and she can tell he's back in the fight, and she wishes she could participate too.

_Why did I go to watch his fucking demonstration anyways?!_

"El Director!" Sado's voice can be heard from the ground as he also tries to assist Ichigo.

Rukia immediately flies down to stand next to Sado.

"Sado…I want you to tell me after you shoot off your attacks, which direction he moves in and whether or not I can get off an attack without hurting Ichigo!" Rukia tells him, and Sado nods his head.

Suddenly, a huge kidou spell opens up, and soon markers are glowing all over Karakura Town. Each marker has a number on it, shining brightly and they're arranged in such a way that it's easy to quickly spot the numbers, or find a number, should someone call it out.

Apparently, while she and Renji were helping Ichigo in Hueco Mundo, the rest of Soul Society already practiced this warm up in the fake Karakura Town to speed up their recognition of where to look for specific markers. Rukia's eyes widen at the sight.

"Well…that makes things a lot easier." Sado says, from beside Rukia, who nods in agreement as she looks around at how the numbers are placed within the markers.

_This is a high level kidou spell that requires two people to work it…who pulled this off?_

"Yay! Nanao-chan and Momo-chan did it!" Yachiru screams as she waves her arms in the air.

Rukia grins when she hears this.

"So Hinamori made herself useful after all…good for her!" Rukia says with a wide smile.

"Number eighty-nine! Ichigo and Aizen are fighting there!" Sado says as he points, and Rukia locates the number.

"It's at eighty-nine!" Tatsuki shouts loudly, and everyone is looking in the same direction as them.

"How is it looking?" Rukia asks, even though she can feel that Ichigo is still unharmed.

"That Aizen is damned strong." Sado breathes, as he stares up at the sky.

"If we all work together…he can't possibly be stronger than all of us." Rukia mutters, and then she sees Sado pulling back for an attack.

"To the right! Number ninety!" Sado says quickly.

"Second Dance, White Ripple!" Rukia calls out, and then she sends a monstrous attack in the direction of number ninety.

Suddenly they're all in a binding spell from Yoruichi, and everyone listens to her announcement, except that she excluded Ichigo since he's fighting with Aizen.

"Everyone! Tatsuki has decided to risk her life to kill Aizen! The next time that Ichigo pulls back, someone will yank him out of the way, and everyone is going to fire an attack at Tatsuki. She will direct all of our powers in one powerful hit, right at Aizen!"

"Holy shit, she's really going to do that?!" Rukia says wide eyed, and Sado takes a deep breath.

"Can she live through taking everyone's attacks to get him?" Sado asks, and Rukia gives him a regretful look.

"It's very doubtful that she'll survive if she tries this. I wonder what brought this on!" Rukia says, even as she tries to imagine how such a death would affect Ichigo.

"Ichigo is getting overpowered." Sado whispers, and Rukia gasps.

Suddenly, everything goes crazy. Everyone sees a black haired Shinigami (Isshin) fly in and appear to grab something invisible out of the sky.

"I've got Ichigo!" Isshin shouts, and everyone suddenly turns towards Tatsuki.

"What the hell! What are they doing?!" Ichigo bellows at his father and even Rukia…is below, turning her weapon on Tatsuki.

"Calm down, Ichigo. Just watch." Isshin says, and he points at Tatsuki and Ichigo gasps when a his father shoots a line of reiatsu at Tatsuki as everyone else fires at her, and Tatsuki's body becomes completely wrapped in blue with help from Isshin, making her even stronger than usual.

"What did you do?!" Ichigo asks in a panic as everyone releases their power at Tatsuki.

Her eyes are closed, since she doesn't want to get hypnotized at the moment of attack.

"Now Tatsuki!" Keigo shouts, and Tatsuki takes everyone's attacks, combines it into one massive reflection, and aims it right at Aizen.

Isshin lets go of Ichigo, and Aizen tries to shunpo out of the way…but the attack was so large that it spread across too large an area for Aizen to sufficiently escape.

Aizen takes a pretty bad hit, and he looks pretty fucked up, but hardly anybody can see him, since his hypnosis is still in place.

Isshin and Ichigo flank Aizen on both sides, and Ichigo swings across his midsection, while Isshin removes his head.

Aizen falls into three pieces to the ground, dead. Matsumoto flies up at Gin, who had been invisible until this moment and she crosses zanpakutous with him.

"You know I could never kill you." Gin says, but Rangiku gives him a hard look.

"Sorry about your luck." She tells him, as her eyes start to turn blue from the reiatsu she's building up.

Tousen is attacked by Kenpachi.

"I'm here to finish the job!" Kenpachi yells with a wide smile. "I hope you've gotten stronger, you pussy!" Kenpachi shouts, and Yachiru cheers him on loudly, from the ground.

Ichigo flies down to Rukia's side and she jumps into his arms, causing him to drop Zangetsu, but he puts his arms around her and hugs her back.

They don't let go until everyone starts cheering, that the three traitors are dead.

Ichigo looks at Rukia and smiles, before he leans down and surprises her with a quick kiss.

"I figured I didn't deserve to try that until I killed that fucker." Ichigo mutters, as he turns red.

Rukia grabs him, yanks him down, and kisses him much more fiercely.

They can hear chants about a party, but they don't care, they just keep kissing, since their long and arduous battle has finally ended.

Inoue stands in tears, far away as she watches them, and she looks up in surprise when Ishida's arm falls around her.

"I've always wanted to do this…" Ishida says, before he leans down and kisses her. Inoue forgets all about Ichigo when Ishida kisses her silly. Luckily nobody notices them, since everyone is focused elsewhere.

"I guess Ichigo's really in love." Tatsuki says as she watches Ichigo and Rukia kiss. She never thought Ichigo would be able to kiss a girl in front of such a large crowd…he must love Kuchiki-san a lot.

"Nice one, Tatsuki-chan!" Isshin says with a grin as he gives her a thumbs up.

"It was you who gave me the extra power…wasn't it?" Tatsuki asks him, and Isshin puts a finger to his lips.

"Shhhh. That's a secret." Isshin says, and everyone begins to crowd around the two of them for playing such a large role in the final battle.

Isshin looks over to where Ichigo and Rukia are kissing and his eyes gleam happily.

_The next King and Queen are already kissing!_


	27. As Requested: ZSNS 2

**A/N-I had more than one request to do a sequel to chapter 18, and so here it is for you all! This takes place after Rukia is healed, after being attacked by Grimmjow, but before Ichigo disappears to see the Vaizards.**

**It's dedicated to those who requested it, please enjoy!**

_Z+SNS 2_

When they arrived back at Ichigo's house, he was very quiet. Rukia had been able to tell that he blamed himself for her injuries, and she tried to snap him out of it…but he's been really quiet.

She thought that if she took the tone of voice that she took with him earlier, that he would stop blaming himself, but her plan didn't work. He's still blaming himself, he's just keeping quiet about it now.

"Ichigo, we're all going to train hard, so that the next time the battle won't end up bad, like it did tonight." Rukia says, after spending several minutes observing him.

"Yeah." Ichigo sounds a bit distant…like he's got things on his mind, and Rukia lets out a sigh.

"I'm going to go to bed then…" Rukia says, before she walks out of his room. Ichigo watches her leave and sighs heavily.

"She could have died…all I did was stand there! I'm such a fucking idiot!" Ichigo hisses this under his breath, so he's not overheard.

_It hurts a million times more, when Rukia's the one I failed to protect._

It takes Ichigo a long time to fall asleep, and when he does, it's the restless kind of sleeping, where you wake up feeling like you never slept at all…nevertheless, he does sleep.

With Rukia sleeping in the next room, something happens that Rukia and Ichigo are completely unaware of.

It doesn't matter that they aren't in soul form, they are asleep…and with this sleep, there are two souls who have been waiting for what seems like an eternity, to meet again. They make their move as Ichigo and Rukia sleep.

Sode No Shirayuki materializes and goes through the walls until she's in Ichigo's room. The moment she enters, Zangetsu materializes too.

For a brief moment, all they can do is stare into each other's eyes intensely, but then Zangetsu opens his arms, and Sode No Shirayuki flies into them.

"When I saw you released earlier…I couldn't wait to see you again…I know you heard me calling to you." Zangetsu says in a low voice, and Sode No Shirayuki smiles.

She had been hoping his eyes were on her, as she was released earlier, she's not at all surprised that he was watching her, though. She loves to feel him in bankai.

"Of course I heard you. It was easy to hear you, since I was listening for you." Sode No Shirayuki says, and Zangetsu holds her close.

"I could only feel hints of you when Ichigo and I were fighting together to save Rukia in Soul Society." Zangetsu tells her, and she sighs a bit before she answers.

"I was pretty weak then…but you did really good." Sode No Shirayuki tells him, and he lowers head in shame. She doesn't see it since she's busy hugging him though.

"Not good enough…that bastard Aizen…" Zangetsu's anger can be clearly heard in his voice.

"You were magnificent. I won't hear any arguments to the contrary!" Sode No Shirayuki insists, and Zangetsu fights a smile.

"You're so stubborn…as usual. You know…tonight was bad." He tells her, and she nods her head.

They slowly pull away from each other to look each other in the eyes again.

"I know." Sode No Shirayuki says simply. Both of them look over at Ichigo, who is tossing and turning restlessly in his sleep.

"He's a wreck." Zangetsu says, and Sode No Shirayuki nods.

"All she's thinking about, is getting even stronger." Sode No Shirayuki tells him, and Zangetsu nods.

"All I've been able to think about…is how much I've missed you." Zangetsu confesses and she nods her agreement on that.

"I have missed you too. It was the same for her, she was missing him terribly. She even kept an eye out for him, from Soul Society." Sode No Shirayuki says, and Zangetsu nods.

"It's been difficult. We're apart too much these days." Zangetsu says, and Sode No Shirayuki grins at him.

"We were just spoiled in the beginning, and now we miss it. I will always do my best to protect you and Ichigo." Sode No Shirayuki says, and Zangetsu stares at her, with his piercing gaze.

"And I will always do everything I can to protect you and Rukia." Zangetsu says, and Sode No Shirayuki steps back into his arms.

They stay like that, very quietly all night long, holding each other to make up for the days and nights missed. They've sealed their promises, and reconnected after such a long time.

When dawn breaks, Sode No Shirayuki retreats reluctantly, when Ichigo starts to stir.

"I love you, Zangetsu," Sode No Shirayuki says in a whisper. Zangetsu loves the cold wind hits his face and he gazes straight into her eyes.

"I love you too…" Zangetsu says, but she disappears halfway through his admission. He looks over at Ichigo and disappears too.

Ichigo opens his eyes and sits up.

"I won't fail Rukia ever again. Even if I don't want to see the Vaizards, I will. For Rukia. I never want a repeat of last night, ever again." Ichigo's voice is filled with resolve, and he looks around his room.

_I can't tell her what I'm planning…what would she think of me, if she knew the truth?! The only way to keep Rukia's respect is to get stronger, and not let that weakness stop me again. _

Ichigo gets up, leaves his room and walks over to the room where his sisters and Rukia sleep. He quietly opens the door, and stares at the petite Shinigami that means more than the world to him.

_I'll do something about this. I can't have this problem with you around. I don't even want to think about what he might ever try to do to you, if I lost control and he came out. To protect you, Rukia…I'll do anything. Even see the Vaizards._

Thoughts and words of protecting Rukia, or saving her, have been fairly commonplace in his head, ever since she was taken back to Soul Society, by Byakuya and Renji. It's no surprise to him that his mind is thinking in that direction. He's gotten used to it.

Ichigo walks into the room and stands next to Rukia's bed. He watches her sleep, and as he does so, he really wants to wake her up, and tell her not to worry…but if he does that, she'll definitely worry.

Ichigo leans down and presses a feathery light kiss on Rukia's exposed cheek, close to her nose. He notices that her eyelashes are very long, as she sleeps there. She's utterly beautiful.

_For you, I'll get stronger…I'll never stop working at getting stronger, so long as I have you to protect._

**A/N-I know I mentioned before that I opened up an IchiRuki forum, but I would love to see more votes in the polls, and responses in the threads!! I love to hear from the fellow IchiRuki fans, come on over and post! You can get to the forums by clicking on my profile! Also another forum I'd like to suggest is called Calling All Fangirls, moderator-LithiumRukia :) I hope you all come visit!**


	28. As Requested: Team IchiRuki

**A/N-This is done by request, a chapter where Ichigo & Rukia fight together ! **

**It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Team IchiRuki_

"Aizen!" Ichigo roars as he flies at the evil Shinigami that he's wanted to kill for a long time.

Aizen blocks his swing, and Ichigo growls in frustration, right in Aizen's face. Ichigo snarls when his opponent starts to smile.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, why are you fighting me? Is it because I brought Inoue Orihime to Hueco Mundo? Or…is it because I arranged for Kuchiki Rukia to be executed?" Aizen asks, curious to know the answer.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Ichigo growls into Aizen's face, and at the memory of Aizen sticking his hand into Rukia's soul…it affects him fiercely, and Aizen's eyes open in shock when Ichigo begins to glow.

"You really are an anomaly, you know that? I can't deny that you're strong. You're freakishly strong, yet you're ruled by your emotions." Aizen says, but Ichigo isn't here to have a friendly psychological chat.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo yells at the top of his lungs. Aizen blocks his attack with his unreleased zanpakutou.

"Tell me before I end your life, Kurosaki Ichigo…why you want to kill me." Aizen asks again, but it's more of a demand, and Ichigo's eyes narrow at him.

"If you were as smart as you claim, you wouldn't have to ask such a stupid question!" Ichigo yells before he pulls on the mask and swings again. "Getsuga…Tenshou." Ichigo's voice is all distorted by the hollow quality of it, and Aizen actually laughs at him.

Aizen flips his zanpakutou up, and Ichigo quickly shuts his eyes and looks back again a moment later.

"You still don't have enough reiatsu to defeat me." Aizen says, and Ichigo scowls again.

_Did I see the release? He did it without saying anything…I hope he can't hypnotize me._

"Bankai. Tensa Zangetsu." Ichigo says, and Aizen just grins.

"It's better, but still not enough." Aizen says, and then he shatters his release, back into his zanpakutou.

Ichigo darts in, and Aizen is able to block him, even though Ichigo is able to move at a much higher speed, which infuriates Ichigo.

"Way of Binding, Number Sixty One, Six Rods of Light Prison!" Aizen says, and Ichigo is instantly sealed into Aizen's binding spell. Aizen grins.

"Bastard." Ichigo says, as he begins to try and break it.

"This couldn't be any easier." Aizen says, as he flies forward, but Rukia darts in front of Ichigo, and holds Aizen back with great effort.

Ichigo is struggling frantically to break Aizen's binding spell, but the power of the spell, is highly reliant on the power of its wielder, and Aizen's power has him held fast.

"Rukia!" Ichigo calls out frantically, even as he puts more effort into breaking out.

"You only delayed the inevitable, by a little bit, I assure you." Aizen informs her, and he pulls back. "It won't take much for me to kill you both." Aizen says confidently, and Rukia grits her lips.

If only she could retort to that. The problem is, with Ichigo caught up in Aizen's binding spell, it's a one on one fight, with someone who is far more powerful than herself.

Aizen uses shunpo to stand right next to Rukia. He slices off her zanpakutou, grabs a hold of her by throwing his arm around her neck, and holding his palm on her chin. He puts his blade right up to Rukia's neck and gives Ichigo an amused look.

"Answer my question now. Or I'll kill her right now." Aizen says, and Ichigo's eyes widen, and he presses his blade hard enough into Rukia's neck to draw blood.

"Why I want to kill you?!" Ichigo asks, and Aizen nods as he digs his blade a little deeper into Rukia's neck.

Ichigo can't think, or respond. All he can see is red.

The kidou breaks away from his body, and Aizen's eyes widen in shock as Rukia is yanked forcefully out of his grasp, and he receives a nasty gash, since Ichigo managed to get his blade in between Rukia and Aizen's zanpakutou, as he yanked her free.

"Ichigo!" Rukia says in a shaky voice, but he can't talk to her, all he can do, is focus on the bastard in front of him. He lets go of her, and pushes her behind him.

"There are many reasons I want to kill you, it's not like you've left anyone with a shortage of reasons. But the reason I most want to kill you is for what you did to Rukia! If you hadn't interfered…" Ichigo trails off and darts in.

Rukia's eyes widen.

_If Aizen hadn't interfered…it wouldn't have taken too long for me to turn into a normal human! Why would Ichigo want that, unless…_

Rukia sees they're back to crossing blades, and Ichigo's reiatsu feels more intense than usual. The anger is clearly radiating off of Zangetsu.

Rukia puts her hand up to her neck and looks at the blood, before she hangs her head in shame a bit, and then looks at Sode No Shirayuki, who is currently broken, from the force of Aizen's attack. Not like she can't still use it, but she can't even get near the two of them right now.

"A fat lot of good I am…" Rukia says, since she knows, there is nothing at all she can do right now to help Ichigo in battle.

They're moving too fast for her to fire off kidou, and she's no match for Aizen's power. Suddenly they back off for a second, and Rukia sees Aizen's hand begin to light up.

"Ichigo! He's going to try and use kidou on you again!" Rukia shouts, before she uses shunpo to change her position.

Ichigo is still surrounded in reiatsu, that clearly shows how angry he is with the situation, particularly that Aizen got his hands on Rukia, yet again!

Rukia watches in horror. She grips Sode No Shirayuki a bit more tightly, and then she jumps when she feels cool hands on her shoulders.

"I am going to help you, help him." Sode No Shirayuki says, against Rukia's ear. Her eyes widen.

_She's materialized!_

"How?!" Rukia asks in an aching voice, even as her heart pounds in frustration.

"The final dance." Sode No Shirayuki says, and Rukia gasps. The final dance would be…bankai!

"But I haven't trained with it!" Rukia says frantically, but Sode No Shirayuki grins at her.

"I already told you I'd help you. I just need you to say the chant. Everything else will fall into place naturally, if you trust me." Sode No Shirayuki says, and Rukia gives her a look of resolve, before nodding her head.

"I will always trust you," Rukia says firmly.

Sode No Shirayuki moves in front of Rukia. Her usual ponytail has the ice band that holds it in place at the top of her head, and her jet black hair falls nearly to her knees, while in the ponytail. She's in her usual white dress, that looks like it's made of snow, and only falls a few inches past her rear. Her eyes are huge, but they're very pale blue, in contrast to Rukia's dark blue eyes. She stands on a cloud that also has snow coming constantly out of it.

"Then call it out…Final Dance, Chain Breaking Blizzard, Sode No Shirayuki."

Aizen isn't paying any attention to Rukia as he binds Ichigo again, but the sudden burst of reiatsu from the girl, forces him to at least look before he cuts off Ichigo's head, and it's a good thing he did.

Rukia is now on a cloud that moves at astonishing speed, and it looks like she has…bankai. She comes from Ichigo's side, in case Aizen decided to try and kill him before facing her, and she positions herself in front of Ichigo. Aizen can't help but to admire her bankai.

Rukia's hair is no longer down, it's tied up in a ponytail by what looks like a loop of ice. She is holding what looks like her normal released zanpakutou, but larger, completely surrounded in blue reiatsu. She also has a white cape which is blowing right in Ichigo's face. Bits of snow fly off of it, and all around her, and the thing by her side.

Next to her, obviously to be controlled by her zanpakutou, is a creature, made completely of ice, with big icy fangs. It's shape is that of an oversized jungle cat. It roars next to her, and Ichigo is so shocked by it, that he stops trying to get out of the binding.

Rukia grasps her zanpakutou tightly in her hands, and Sode No Shirayuki leaps at Aizen.

When Aizen is able to block against her bankai, Ichigo remembers that he was trying to get loose of the binding spell, and manages to do so, as Aizen cuts her ice cat right in half.

"Rukia!" Ichigo shouts, he cannot let her die…absolutely cannot!

Ichigo grabs Rukia and spins around as quickly as possible, and stands on her cloud behind her. This way, Aizen's zanpakutou slices him, rather than her, but the hit never comes.

Ichigo turns his head, and his jaw drops open.

"Rukia…how?" Ichigo whispers, and Rukia can only breathe deeply. Ichigo turns her back around to see what has happened. Rukia stays right in front of him, with his arms around her, and Zangetsu hanging in one of his hands, pointed downwards.

Sode No Shirayuki repaired herself, after Aizen cut her in half, and as he'd been so close to stabbing Ichigo, she had come from behind and snatched him up in her huge mouth. Blood is dripping down her chin and she keeps applying pressure with her mouth, causing Aizen to let out a blood soaked gurgle of pain.

"Cut off his head." Rukia orders Ichigo in a strained gasp. She's starting to feel dizzy, like this was all just too much for her.

Ichigo doesn't want to let her go, since he knows she's exhausted. Rukia moves her ice cloud with she and Ichigo on it, over to Aizen, who is still hanging limply from Sode No Shirayuki's mouth.

"Rukia…put your hands on the hilt with me." Ichigo says, and Rukia does as he asks. "We'll kill him together." Ichigo whispers and Ichigo raises Zangetsu up, with both his and Rukia's hands on the hilt of his zanpakutou.

They lop off his head in one sure swing, and watch as it smacks the ground with a satisfying splat. Rukia immediately flies downwards to the ground, and dissipates her bankai, before she passes out from using all of Sode No Shirayuki's strength.

Ichigo sees her sway, and so he grabs her up in his arms. He's surprised when he sees her looking at him, even though she looks like she's about to close her eyes.

"Ichigo…" Rukia says, and he looks at her, with his worry for her quite evident.

"What?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia gives him a tired smile.

"I don't have to be a human for us to be together." Rukia says, before she closes her eyes.

Ichigo pulls her close, and then presses a kiss on her cute nose.

"We are a great team, and I always want to be together with you." Ichigo whispers. It's so easy to say, when he doesn't have to worry about how she might respond. Then again, she did just say some very encouraging words.

_Then we'll be together…always._


	29. As Requested: Immortal Isshin 4

_**A/N- I had a request to do a part 4 of Immortal Isshin, where we get to see children from the union. I also had another request to include a Rukia in labor scene where she goes a little nuts. I'm combining both of these requests into one chapter, and it's dedicated to the ones that requested it. Please enjoy!**_

_Immortal Isshin 4_

When the black hell butterfly lands on the table during the usual Kurosaki family dinner, Isshin's eyes widen in happiness and he looks at the girls. They're staring at the butterfly, since they're sure they saw these kind in Soul Society when they were there.

"Rukia-chan is in labor! You're both going to become aunts!" Isshin booms loudly at them.

Karin and Yuzu exchange smiles. It had only been two months after the wedding, that Rukia and Ichigo had discovered that they were three months pregnant.

Isshin has been going nuts, buying all kinds of stuff that he can take to Soul Society. He hadn't told them the last time he visited, but he had arranged to have a huge manor built for the two of them, since they are the highest level of nobility in Soul Society.

He calls Urahara in Soul Society, who is supposed to have the spirit exchangers ready, for the girls to be able to go and meet Ichigo and Rukia's firstborn child.

Urahara gives Isshin the go ahead to open the Senkai gate and they all go through, each pulling a wagon filled with gifts for the new edition to the Kurosaki family.

When they arrive in Soul Society, there are Shinigami waiting to greet them. respectfully bowing to Isshin.

When Karin sees Hitsugaya, she smiles as he drops to his knees in respect for Isshin.

"Take this wagon for me." Karin orders him, and Isshin grins at her air of superiority. She understands very well what it means to be a Kurosaki.

"You may rise." Isshin says to everyone. Hitsugaya stands, and takes the wagon from Karin. Yumichika, Ikkaku, and Kenpachi all grin at Isshin.

"The family's about to get bigger!" Kenpachi says with a grin, and Isshin smiles hugely at him.

"May I take that wagon for you?" Yumichika asks Yuzu. "You're too beautiful to have to drag this thing around." He finishes. Yuzu blushes at his flattery and nods her head shyly.

"I trust that the manor is completed?" Isshin asks Yamamoto, and he nods his head yes.

"You're going there first?" Kenpachi asks in surprise. Isshin grins and shakes his head no, before he smiles at Hitsugaya, Yumichika, and Ikkaku.

"No, you three are going there. Take these wagons and leave them outside the front door." Isshin orders them, and Ikkaku immediately relieves Isshin of his wagon.

"Where is Ichi-ni?" Karin asks, and Kenpachi grins at her.

"He's with his wife." Kenpachi answers immediately, and Yachiru pops up from his back.

"With Captain Unohana!" Yachiru says with a smile and a wave at the girls.

"Yachiru-chan!" Yuzu says with a grin, and Karin winks at her.

"Hi! You should have been here earlier! Icchy had to carry her in, and she got huge over the past few months!" Yachiru says with a cheerful smile.

"How long ago did it start?" Isshin asks, and Kenpachi shrugs.

"I've known for a few hours." Kenpachi says, and they all start to walk towards the Fourth Division.

When they arrive there, they're greeted by Hanatarou, who falls to his knees at the sight of Isshin.

"You may rise." Isshin says, and Hanatarou stands.

"There have been…difficulties. It's taking longer than expected." Hanatarou informs them sadly. Suddenly they hear Rukia screaming.

"I'm going to kill you Ichigo!" Rukia's voice can be heard loud and clear. Yuzu gasps, and Karin snickers.

"That brings back some memories. Masaki said the same thing when she was giving birth to Ichigo." Isshin says with a grin.

"She's here. She's in there with Captain Unohana, Lieutenant Kotetsu, Ichigo-san, and Rukia-san." Hanatarou tells him, and Isshin's eyes bulge.

"She's here?!" Isshin shouts, and he just wants to break down the door to where his wife is. They hear another loud scream from Rukia, and Isshin decides he probably shouldn't barge in at the moment.

In the delivery room, Ichigo made the mistake of getting a bit too close to Rukia when she screamed, and she grabs him around the throat and begins to choke him. Isane tries not to pay attention to the violence, since it's rather common during the labor, if the man is brave enough to be present at the time the woman is in the most excruciating pain in her life.

"This is all your fault…all your fault Ichigo!" Rukia snaps, and Masaki holds back a smile. She's fairly certain she choked Isshin when she was in labor with Ichigo, and again when she was in labor with the girls.

"Rukia…can't breathe…" Ichigo's voice is barely a gasp, but after seeing her in so much pain, he feels rather relieved that he can feel some too. Anything to alleviate her own pain.

"Do you have any idea how much this hurts?!" Rukia roars into his face, which is turning red from a lack of air.

"Sorry…" Ichigo gasps out, before he finally grabs her wrists and tries to pry her from him.

He can't get her hands loose, and he starts to see flashes of light around his head.

She lets go voluntarily, just before her next contraction comes, and Ichigo steps back and breathes deeply. Masaki doesn't look the least bit concerned about him, because Rukia's face is contorting in pain.

"You asshole! You're responsible for this! This agonizing pain is all your fault!" Rukia yells, before she lets out a scream. Ichigo gives Unohana a very concerned look.

"Is she going to be okay?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia's eyes narrow at him before she shakes her fist.

"You'd better hope not! If I'm okay when I'm done, I'm kicking your ass!" Rukia roars, and Masaki coughs to cover up a tiny laugh that started to escape her lips. Isane smiles too, since Rukia's feistiness hasn't decreased since the pains first started.

"She'll be just fine," Unohana assures him, and Rukia glares.

"My body feels like it's being ripped in half! Fuck you Ichigo! Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!" Rukia shrieks as another contraction comes on.

Ichigo grabs her hand, but that ends up being a mistake. She squeezes his hand so hard, that he's extremely grateful that her hand wasn't around his neck for that contraction. She could have easily crushed his larynx if she'd squeezed his neck, the way she's squeezing his hand.

"Here we go!" Unohana says, and Ichigo's heart skips a beat. His face is finally at it's normal color, though he's sure his hand will need to be treated after she's done giving birth. It feels like she's crushing his bones.

"You're doing great, Rukia-chan!" Masaki says encouragingly, and Rukia's eyes tear over as she looks at her.

"I just want it to be over!" Rukia wails, and Masaki nods her head in sympathy.

"It will be, very soon. I promise." Masaki whispers, and Ichigo leans over Rukia, since he's feeling really bad for her. It was an idiot decision on his part, because Rukia's eyes get very angry when she sees him getting closer, and she smacks him across the face so hard, that it's heard out in the waiting room.

Ichigo jumps back and puts a hand up to his cheek. It's burning so hot, but then Rukia starts to scream, and he's distracted.

"Here comes baby number one!" Unohana says, and Rukia's eyes widen in horror at her words.

"Baby number one…you mean there's more of them in there?!" Rukia shrieks, and Unohana smiles.

"You said you wanted to be surprised…" Unohana says, and Ichigo's eyes widen in happiness.

"Twins?" Ichigo breathes, and his eyes widen in shock, when Unohana shakes her head no. Ichigo gawks when she does that. He can hardly believe they're about to give birth to three children in one go.

"You really are an asshole, Ichigo!" Rukia's voice is so furious…here she thought she was practically done, only to find out there are more coming!

"It's a girl!" Unohana says, and she smiles as the baby starts to cry. She hands the baby to Isane, who immediately rushes to get the baby cleaned up.

"A girl!" Ichigo says in wonder, as he tries to get a peek at his firstborn child, who is hidden from his sight now that Isane is cleaning her up. He can hear her though. She's not nearly as loud as her mother is, as she's still in intense labor.

The pains don't even seem to stop, and Unohana looks surprised.

"You're not going to get a break, baby number two is on its way!" Unohana announces, and Ichigo's attention is back on Rukia who starts to scream, and he wonders what he should do.

"Hold her hand, Ichigo." Masaki instructs him, when she sees the uncertain look on her son's face.

Ichigo immediately rushes forward, to listen to his mother's instructions...no matter how much it hurts.

"This is too much! It's hands off for you from now on! I mean it!" Rukia shouts, and Ichigo blushes. The sound of a second baby crying causes Ichigo to stare in wonder at the baby in Captain Unohana's arms.

"Here she is! Unohana says, and Isane pauses with the first baby to take the second little girl from Unohana.

Isane calls another girl in the room to help, but Rukia is out of it, in pain since her contractions have stayed painfully strong.

"I think you hate me! How could you do this to me?!" Rukia yells, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"I do not hate you!" Ichigo shouts, and Masaki gives him a warning look.

"Are you yelling at me while I'm in labor!? You asshole!" Rukia shouts, and Ichigo just opens and closes his mouth.

Isane saves him, by handing him his firstborn child. She doesn't have a lot of hair, but what she does have, looks light colored, and close to his mother's color of hair. The other girl in the room is cleaning the second baby.

"Wow." Ichigo breathes, as he stares at the tiny infant that he and Rukia created together. "She's perfect…amazing." Ichigo says, but Rukia is in immense pain again.

"Let me see her, Ichigo." Masaki says, and Ichigo reluctantly passes her to his mother, before grabbing Rukia's hand again.

She squeezes it tight and Ichigo can no longer feel his hand due to her abuse of it, and he closes his eyes for a moment, when he wonders if his hand will ever be right again.

When Ichigo opens his eyes, Isane is passing him his second born child, and she looks just like the first baby that he was handed. Ichigo gawks at her for a second. She's not crying now, and her eyes are open, and it appears as though she's staring right at him, even though she probably can't see clearly just yet.

"Identical twins?" Ichigo breathes, "or triplets?" Ichigo asks, as Unohana pulls out baby number three.

"Baby number three is here! A boy!" Unohana says, and Ichigo nearly drops the baby in his arms. The boy starts to cry, a bit louder than his sisters did.

"Identical twins, and a fraternal triplet?" Ichigo asks, and Unohana shakes her head.

"There is one more." Unohana informs them.

"What?! This is bullshit! Oh fuck you Ichigo! You have the sperm from hell, you know that? Four!? I would have been happy with one!" Rukia shouts so loudly that they can all hear cheering in the waiting room.

"Damn Ichigo! We have a talented son, don't we Masaki!?" Isshin's loud shout causes Ichigo to groan.

"Well what about you?!" Ichigo says, not realizing his error, or the fact that the only reason he doesn't have a black eye right now, is because he has an infant in his arms.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?! What do you mean, what about me?!" Rukia roars, and Ichigo turns white as he stares at the infant in his arms.

"Nothing…" Ichigo says, feeling that calling her an egg releasing maniac can wait, until she doesn't have killing intent shining in her eyes.

"You're damned right nothing!" Rukia shouts, before she starts screaming again.

Masaki walks over to the door with Ichigo and Rukia's firstborn daughter. She carefully slides it open and she's immediately given a huge smacking kiss on the lips from Isshin, before his eyes go to the tiny infant in her arms,

"Our first grandchild," Masaki whispers, and Isshin looks like he's going to melt all over the floor at the sight of her.

"Masaki…she has your hair!" Isshin says excitedly. Masaki steps out into the hallway and hands her to him.

"I have to go back in," Masaki says, but Isshin can't take his eyes off of his first grandchild. His wife smiles at him, walks back in the room, and slides the door shut. She's just in time to take Ichigo's second born daughter out of his arms, and immediately afterwards, a little boy is passed to him.

Ichigo immediately notices that he has Rukia's hair, and Rukia's eyes, but is wearing his own scowl. He grins in happiness at him.

"My first son," Ichigo says proudly, and he's distracted from his tiny son, because Rukia's screaming very loudly, so loud that he looks in time to see Unohana pulling out another little boy, with the same dark hair as Rukia's.

"Why won't the pain stop?!" Rukia screams, and even Unohana looks stumped.

"It shouldn't still be this bad." Unohana says, and Rukia begins to scream again.

"There can't possibly be a fifth one…can there?" Masaki asks, and Unohana's eyes widen.

"If there is, it was positioned in such a way that we couldn't see it during the pregnancy." Unohana replies, but Rukia's scream gets louder. Unohana gulps.

"There is a fifth one, isn't there?" Rukia asks in a wail, and Unohana watches the head appear, before she agrees with Rukia, and glances at Ichigo, who is very wide eyed at the moment.

"It appears so." Unohana admits.

"I hate you, Ichigo!" Rukia says, as tears stream down her face. The last baby slides out easily, and the first thing Ichigo sees, is bright orange hair.

"One out of five got infected with my hair." Ichigo says, even as a smile tugs at his lips. His orange haired child begins to cry.

"Another boy." Unohana announces, as the baby begins to cry. Rukia finally calms down a bit, even though she can still feel contractions. Finally, she's handed their second daughter, since their firstborn is being passed around in the waiting room.

Rukia's eyes widen as her daughter grabs a hold of her finger and squeezes it tightly. Her heart melts instantly.

"I can't believe I'm saying this…but you were worth it." Rukia says in an aching voice.

Within a half hour, Rukia had birthed the placentas, and is covered up enough to be able to accept company. Yuzu is holding their firstborn, and everyone is smiling.

"Five babies." Masaki says, with a look of disbelief, and Isshin's eyes light up at the sight of all of the babies in the room.

"Babies are everywhere!" Isshin exclaims happily, and Isane hands him his youngest grandchild, the only one with bright orange hair.

"Here's one for you to hold." Isane tells him, and Isshin's eyes soften right up as he stands next to Masaki who is holding her oldest grandson in her arms.

"He looks exactly like Ichigo did, doesn't he, Masaki?" Isshin says, with happiness filling his voice. Masaki smiles lovingly at him.

"He does." The girl who was helping, hands Karin the second born son of Ichigo and Rukia's.

"Five babies to name!" Isshin says happily.

"What do you think?" Rukia asks Ichigo. He grins at her.

"We only had two names prepared. One for a boy, and one for a girl. Now we'll have to think about it." Ichigo says with a grin.

"Well don't take too long, my grandchildren need names! You'll need a real home, instead of the Captain's living quarters now too." Isshin tells Ichigo, who suddenly starts to look panicked.

"We didn't plan for five babies at all!" Ichigo says, even as he imagines five babies crying at the same time.

"Well, I have something that will make it easier." Isshin says, and Ichigo looks at his father hopefully for the first time in a long time.

"What?" Ichigo asks. Isane slides over and begins to heal his hand, which was pretty messed up from Rukia squeezing it so damned hard. Ichigo barely pays attention to her, his attention is on his father.

"You'll have your own manor. It's already ready for you to move in. It has thirty bedrooms." Isshin says, and Ichigo's mouth drops open in shock.

"I'm also going to stay in Soul Society, to lend you a hand," Masaki announces, and Isshin stares at her. She belongs in the royal dimension, since she is the Queen of Soul Society, but if she wants to help with her grandchildren, he wouldn't dare to argue with her.

"Damn…thanks, Dad." Ichigo says in wonder.

Everyone gets a chance to hold a baby, and since there are so many babies, there are smiles and joy everywhere.

Ichigo is smiling proudly, since he is currently without a child in his arms, and Rukia reaches over and rubs his ass quickly. Ichigo quickly looks at her in shock and she smiles happily up at him.

"I'm sorry I was so mean…I really love you." Rukia says, and Ichigo smiles.

"I love you too." Ichigo says in wonder...her attitude sure did a one-eighty!

It takes them a few hours, but they finally come up with names for their children. For the girls who came first, the oldest daughter is named Kukiko, and her twin is named Takara. Their oldest son is named Kaori, and his twin is named Nariaki. They name their youngest orange haired son, Takeshi.

Everyone agrees that they did well, in picking out names for the children. Isshin is the proudest beaming grandfather that anyone has ever seen, and for once in his life, all he has is praise for his son.

"Ichigo! I have never been more proud of you than I am right now! Just look, Masaki! They're all completely perfect!" Isshin says, and then he winks at Ichigo. "I think we've found your talent." Isshin says with a devilish grin.

"Oh god…I hope not!" Rukia says, and everyone begins to laugh.

"The new mother needs to get some rest, but the new father can stay and rest with her." Unohana says, with a knowing smile.

The couple hasn't been alone at all, since the birth of their children, and this may well be the only time to let them be alone, now that they have five children, currently all sleeping in the next room, with Shinigami monitoring them carefully.

Normally Unohana wouldn't have let the babies have so much interaction immediately, but she knew the Spirit King would overturn her decision, and so she hadn't even argued the point. She leaves the room.

Rukia looks anxiously up at Ichigo.

"You're never allowed to come in me, again!" Rukia says in a panicked voice, and Ichigo chuckles, as he pulls her into his arms.

"Thank you for giving birth to five beautiful children," Ichigo says softly, before he kisses her cheek.

"It won't be happening again, anytime soon, I promise you!" Rukia says but she smiles at his kiss. Ichigo pulls away and stares at her like she's a goddess…

"I'll never stop loving you, everything is perfect, because of you...my egg releasing maniac" Ichigo tells her, and Rukia punches him, even though she smiles. Ichigo rubs his arm, surprised that she could pack that much power after giving birth, she's so tough!

Rukia grins and looks at Ichigo's happy eyes, as she contemplates what he just said.

_We'll see if you say that when they're all screaming at the same time…_

**A/N- The meanings of Ichigo and Rukia's children are as follows, according to the websites I checked anyways…**

**Kukiko-Snow Child**

**Takara-Treasure **

**Kaori-Strong**

**Nariaki-Equal Clarity**

**Takeshi-Fierce Warrior **


	30. As Requested: Whatever She Wants 2

**A/N-I had a request to make a sequel to chapter 25, where Rukia realizes she needs and depends on Ichigo, as much as he does her. This is dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Whatever She Wants 2_

Life has been like a dream, since she finally admitted to Ichigo that she loved him, and she's felt so much happiness for the past two weeks, that she feels as though she may burst.

Ichigo has proven quite wonderfully that he loves her as much as she loves him. She's already noticed that he seems to think it's his personal mission to make sure she is smiling and happy. It's nice to have this change, because everything feels so amazingly right.

It meant so much to her that Byakuya ni-sama approved of her loving Ichigo. It was like floating around on a cloud for two weeks straight.

She should have known…it couldn't go uninterrupted.

They had both hopped into action when they realized an Espada was in the living world…and they'd both hurried to the scene.

When they looked at who was in front of them, Rukia could feel her heart sinking. The reiatsu of the old geezer was more than frightening. Ichigo had gone into bankai immediately upon seeing the old man there, looking at them like they were dinner.

She truly feared for their lives as he unsheathed his zanpakutou.

They worked together to fight against him, but Rukia soon got pushed out of the action when they started fighting at speeds superior to her own. She is still standing now and looking for any opening to assist in the kill of such an old, dangerous, and bloodthirsty hollow. The old man seems to have a whole lot more fighting experience to back him up than either of them, but there are two of them, and only one of him.

The moment he and Ichigo stay still a moment to meet blade to blade, Rukia uses shunpo to land directly beneath them.

"First Dance, White Moon." Rukia chants quietly but forcefully, as she swings her zanpakutou, and Ichigo recognizes what's happening in time to get out of the way.

The Espada works to move, but he doesn't get away fast enough, and his legs get caught in the ice.

Ichigo flies forward to attack, but the Espada defends for the moment. He uses his free hand to create a powerful cero and he aims it at the ice, holding him prisoner.When he escapes, the battle resumes, and Rukia sweats, as she watches it progress far longer than it ought to.

Their blades keep meeting, and the Espada decides to shoot off a storm of bara at Ichigo. When Ichigo dodges, the Espada purposely aims towards the ground, where Rukia stands, and he shot some off at her so fast, that neither Rukia or Ichigo had been able to attack or move.

Ichigo felt a horrible rush of panic go through his entire body when Rukia goes flying limply through the air, obviously hit, and obviously wounded. Ichigo feels a need to kill beyond what he's felt in a long time.

Ichigo begins to fight, with three times as much power as he'd been fighting before, simply because his rage is impacting his power. The Espada starts to feel like maybe he can't continue to match Ichigo's speed and strength, and so he decides he'll have to do something about it.

He releases his zanpakutou, and Ichigo is blown backwards from the force of it.

"I didn't think I'd have to release this to kill you, but now you stand no chance." The Espada says, and Ichigo's eyes widen as his reiatsu multiplies many times over from where it started. It had been terrifying to begin with, and now it's much stronger…much worse…and much more threatening.

Rukia feels so much pain…but she forces herself to sit up when she feels the reiatsu get even stronger than it had been initially. She can't help but to worry from the bottom of her heart for Ichigo.

Rukia suddenly realizes that Ishida and Inoue are on the other side of town, fighting another Espada…which means she's not headed this way. Help is really far away…

It's like her worst dream is happening in front of her eyes, when she sees Ichigo get overpowered, and the hollow drives him from the sky, hard into the ground with an amazing amount of force.

"Dance…Sode No Shirayuki," Rukia says, her voice showing her panic.

Rukia forces herself to stand, and she sees Ichigo on the ground, unmoving. The Espada stand, and raises his zanpakutou.

Rukia doesn't even have time to think, only react. She forgets all about her pained and injured body and she moves to where she needs to be to get her blade in between Ichigo and the Espada's zanpakutou.

She succeeds in moving to where she needs to be, and she raises her released zanpakutou, to stop his blade.

There was way too much power in his blade. His blade cuts through her own zanpakutou like butter, and then it keeps heading downwards, where he slices deep into her shoulder.

"Die." The Espada says in a low and amused voice, but before he can turn his blade and cut across her torso, she raises her broken Sode No Shirayuki at his head.

"Third Dance, White Blade!" Rukia gasps out, and the Espada is dies instantly, before he can hurt her any further. The blood spills down her front, from the deep shoulder wound that he inflicted on her.

His hand tightens reflexively on his blade as he dies, and when he falls backwards, he withdraws his blade from her body, and Rukia immediately falls, next to Ichigo. She can see blood coming out of the right side of his chest, and his breathing is uneven. All she can do, is stare at the blood coming out of him.

She knows her own condition isn't much better, it won't be long before she collapses, no matter how much she wants to stay awake. She can feel the blood dripping down her back, and her front. She forces herself to gather the strength to put a healing barrier on Ichigo's wound. She realizes, that when he got pushed into the ground, he got stabbed at that time.

"I won't let you die…I'll use every last bit of reiatsu in my body to make sure…that you don't die." Rukia gasps out, even as her vision begins to blur.

Her will doesn't shake, and her resolve doesn't change. She puts all of her remaining effort, into healing Ichigo.

"Rukia…" Ichigo's voice is very faint, and Rukia feels so much relief that he is speaking to her.

"Don't talk…just listen. You can't die on me. I need you, Ichigo. I can't find any sort of happiness, if you're not right there feeling it with me." Rukia says, even as a large gush of blood comes from her own wound.

Ichigo feels like the pain is leaving him at a faster rate than ever before. He opens his eyes, and they widen when he sees the wound she has sustained, keeping him alive.

"Rukia! Stop it! I need to get you help, right now!" Ichigo says anxiously, and he sits up to grab her into his arms.

"I did it…" Rukia says, with a small grin, before she closes her eyes, and Ichigo gulps, and makes sure she's still breathing. He moves at the speed of light, when he realizes that she is. He rips off a piece of his own robe to bind her wound, and then he grabs her up and takes off.

"I have to get you to Inoue…you say you need me, but you already knew that I need you too…sacrificing yourself for my life…idiot!" Ichigo mutters at her, but then he feels something disturbing, he's only halfway to Ishida and Inoue's location, when he feels it.

Ishida has gone down.

Ichigo's eyes widen in shock. That was not what he was expecting to feel!

He keeps moving at his amazing speed, and he arrives on the scene, just in time to see a woman Espada behead Inoue.

Ichigo sets Rukia down gently and pulls out his zanpakutou.

"You killed them?!" Ichigo roars angrily. The only person around who could have helped Rukia is completely dead.

"You're next." Halibel says next, and Ichigo holds out Zangetsu.

"Bankai…Tensa Zangetsu." Ichigo says, and his face is very hard. He pulls on his mask.

"I'm Halibel." She tells him proudly.

"I'm Kurosaki Ichigo…Getsuga Tenshou." Ichigo says, and he sends a blast unlike any he's other sent before, in despair, and worry at the fact that Rukia could very well die.

Halibel defends against it, but she can't hold it off completely, she's felt his reiatsu before, but right now, it's a great deal stronger, and much sharper, from when she felt him fighting with Grimmjow. She flies backwards from the force of his hit, and blood starts to spray out from her shoulder, all the way to her waist. The fabric holding her top on also blows away, and she looks fairly angry about that.

Before she can even realize what's happened, he's behind her, shoving his blade into the back of her neck, straight up into her brain.

Halibel coughs up blood, as she dies from him overpowering her. His shoulders fall, but then he sees movement…Ishida is struggling to move.

"Ishida!" Ichigo calls out, and he hurries over to him.

"Inoue-san…" Ishida says, and Ichigo puts a hand on his shoulder.

"She wasn't as lucky as you. She didn't make it." Ichigo says quietly, and when tears start to fall down Ishida's face, Ichigo turns and walk over to where he laid Rukia, who is breathing raggedly, and still bleeding through the bindings he tied onto her.

Ichigo can't say one word about Ishida's tears, because he has several falling down his face too. It's terrible that Inoue is dead, but it would a million times worse if Rukia died.

Ichigo wishes he would have forced Rukia to teach him healing kidou. He sits next to her, and gathers her in his arms, as he cries. He holds her tight, and buries his face into her hair, and feels endless tears pouring down his face.

"Don't die…Rukia. Don't die…please!" Ichigo cries, and without realizing it, he summons Zangetsu.

"Ichigo…we can save her." Zangetsu says, and Ichigo stares at him in wonder.

"What do you mean?! Tell me! I'll do anything!" Ichigo says, and Zangetsu practically smiles.

"Of course. Remember what you know about kidou. Remember how Ganju described it, and remember what it felt like when you were being healed. Keep holding her tight…I'm going to direct you. Sode No Shirayuki will give me directions, and I am going to give them to you." Zangetsu says, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

This isn't the first time that Zangetsu has mentioned the voice of another zanpakutou, but to know that his and Rukia's zanpakutous are communicating right now, sends chills straight through his entire being.

"Okay…" Ichigo says, waiting for the instructions.

"Close your eyes." Zangetsu instructs.

"Okay." Ichigo says, and he closes his eyes, and tightens his grip on Rukia.

"Now picture your reiatsu coming from your own body, as though you're giving it to her. Now imagine in your head, her injuries being replaced by your reiatsu back into how you normally see her. Imagine her in perfect health." Zangetsu instructs, and he watches in satisfaction as Ichigo's entire body starts to glow in blue.

An aqua colored circular barrier encases both of them, and the tears begin to slow for Ichigo when he can feel Rukia's breathing return to normal. Zangetsu smiles as he disappears, and Ichigo opens his eyes to find Rukia back to her normal self.

He leans in and kisses her fully and completely. Rukia kisses him back desperately.

"Ichigo…you did this?" Rukia asks in awe, and he nods his head and lets her see his puffy eyes.

"I had to…Inoue is dead." Ichigo whispers, and Rukia's mouth drops open.

"How did you do it, and how did she die?" Rukia asks, wanting answers to both questions and quickly. Ichigo decides to tell her how Inoue died first.

"When I arrived here with you, hoping she could save you, I arrived in time to see a female Espada, named Halibel decapitate her." Ichigo admits, and Rukia's hand goes to her mouth. Her eyes begin to water up.

"She's really…dead?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo nods his head.

"I don't think you can fix something like that…" Ichigo mutters, but Rukia has to know.

"How did you heal me?" Rukia asks next, and Ichigo blushes a bit.

"Zangetsu materialized, and told me that Sode No Shirayuki was going to tell him how to heal me, and he was going to tell me what she was saying." Ichigo admits. "I just did exactly what I was told." Ichigo tells her.

"Thank you, for everything…I always knew I needed you, and that I depended on you. Tonight though, I was reminded in an instant that I need you more than you'll ever know." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo hugs her tightly. They're distracted by the sound of Ishida sobbing as he stands over Inoue's body. He looks horrified, since her head is a few meters away.

"Ishida shouldn't be looking." Rukia says, and Ichigo looks at Rukia.

"We have to go get him." Ichigo says, and he lets go of Rukia so that she can stand. Ichigo gets up and they hurry over to Ishida, and gently pull him away.

Rukia pulls Ishida away and out of sight of Inoue's body, though his tears don't stop.

"It's hard to be powerless like this…" Ishida whispers, and they look at him with worry.

Rukia and Ichigo help Ishida get back home, and call Urahara to go do something about Inoue, since they can't look at her like that. They walk home, holding hands, with a newfound respect for their lives.

Rukia squeezes Ichigo's hand.

_I'm going to need you to hold and comfort me tonight when I cry in private over the loss of Inoue's life._

Ichigo glances at her and can see the sadness in her eyes, and he can't help but agree that it's a very saddening fact that the least violent member of their crew was the first to die.

_You can cry as much as you want, and I'll hold you close to try and make you feel better. I'll give you whatever you want._


	31. As Requested: Inoue's Plot

_**A/N-Several days ago, I received what I thought was a very strange request for an IchiRuki fan fiction author, and I didn't think I was going to be able to fulfill it. However…the request was, and I quote, "**__**Rukia and Ishida team up to break Ichigo and Orihime apart." **_

_**Well, suddenly I came up with an idea that fit the very words to this request, though I doubt it's what the requester had in mind. This chapter is dedicated to that person anyways, for inspiring it. **_

_**This is MEANT to be funny, at least that was my intention! Please Enjoy!**_

_Inoue's Plot_

For the first time in her life, Inoue Orihime was going to do something very underhanded. Well…technically she had already done something very underhanded, by striking up a devious deal with Rangiku-san.

In exchange for ten enormous bags of candy, Rangiku-san agreed to bind Inoue and Ichigo together, using a special kidou technique, to force him to have to pay more attention to her.

Inoue was told that all she'd have to do, is get near Kurosaki-kun while outside, and Rangiku-san would take care of the rest.

Of course, it couldn't be in front of Kuchiki-san, so it was a bit harder than Inoue anticipated it being to get him away from her. They seemed to be stuck to each other like glue, and no kidou was necessary for Kuchiki-san to accomplish such a feat.

Her chance came quite unexpectedly, since Kuchiki-san left to use the restroom at lunch. Inoue got up and walked away from the others when Kuchiki-san disappeared from their sight.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue calls out frantically.

Ichigo looks up and sees Inoue waving for him to go over by her, and he sighs as he sits up to do that.

Inoue frowns when Ichigo takes his sweet time to walk over to her. His steps are _always_ much more hurried when Kuchiki-san calls for him.

When Ichigo gets over to her, she immediately moves to his side, and before Ichigo realizes what's happened, he finds his right arm bound to Inoue's left, via kidou.

Ichigo's eyes widen in horror as he looks at the bindings, and then looks at Inoue.

"What the fuck?!" Ichigo says, and he looks up. He doesn't see anybody there.

"W-what happened, Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue asks, even as she blushes. She can feel his arm pressed up against her own.

"This is horrible! I don't want to be stuck to you!" Ichigo nearly wails, and Inoue looks away.

_That wasn't what I hoped to hear._

"It's not that bad…" Inoue mutters, but Ichigo doesn't notice that her feelings are hurt.

"Are you kidding me?! This is a nightmare!" Ichigo says, and he suddenly wishes he had his own cell phone, so that he could call Rukia.

"You don't have to go that far…" Inoue says, feeling like she'd really like to cry.

_He's saying all of the wrong things!_

"We can't let anybody see us like this…we have to get somewhere and call Rukia!" Ichigo says in a panicked voice. The last thing he wants people to think is that he has some sort of thing for Inoue.

"Where would you like to go?" Inoue asks brightly, immediately imagining it to be like a date, since her mind is a convoluted mess of idiocy. The only area she's not a complete idiot is when it comes to book smarts.

Ichigo starts yanking Inoue away from school, as he tries to come up with a place where they can go, to call for Rukia's help. He doesn't even realize how wildly his reiatsu is fluctuating, due to the uneasy panic that being stuck to Inoue is causing him.

"Urahara! He might even be able to get us apart!" Ichigo says, and he looks so joyous at the mere thought of being separated from her, that she can only bow her head, to hide the hurt in her eyes.

"I don't skip class!" Inoue protests, and Ichigo glares at her.

"There is no way in hell that I'd go to class stuck to you like this. I don't even want to know what people would start saying…" Ichigo says, as he closes his eyes in agony at the mere idea that people might actually consider them some sort of couple.

"Ichigo! What in the hell happened to you?" Rukia's voice sounds from behind them and Ichigo spins around so fast, he nearly sends Inoue sprawling to her face. He looks very grateful to see Rukia and Ishida approaching.

"Rukia! Thank goodness! Please, you have to save me!" Ichigo calls out, and Rukia's eyes widen, since it is the first time in a long time, that she recalls hearing him whine at her. Inoue turns her head downwards, as her face darkens at his dramatic greeting to Kuchiki-san.

"Who did this to you?" Rukia asks, as she recognizes the kidou spell that he's inflicted with. Ishida glares on, and he pushes his glasses up his nose.

"I don't know! I didn't see anyone! Do whatever it takes, to break us apart!" Ichigo says, before his eyes narrow at her. "If I find out it was you who did this-" Ichigo says, and Rukia smacks him very hard across the face.

"I would never bind you to another girl!" Rukia shouts into his face, and Ichigo's eyes widen before he grins a bit. He felt his whole body shoot with sparks when she smacked him.

"Do something, please!" Ichigo begs Rukia in a shaky voice. "I don't want to be stuck to Inoue." Ichigo moans, and Rukia grins as she shakes her head. She wonders if he'd bellyache this much if he'd been bound to her.

"I'll do what I can, to help." Ishida offers quietly, and Rukia nods at him.

Inoue begins to wonder if she should just stick to being nice and honest, since her scheme is backfiring on her harder than the New England Patriots plan to cheat backfired on them.

Ichigo watches impatiently, as Rukia pulls her backpack from her shoulders, and produces Kon. She whips on her red glove and pops the gikongan out.

"Open wide." Rukia orders him, and Ichigo instantly opens his mouth. Rukia slips the pill in his mouth, and when he pops out of his body, he's quite relieved, even though it's still disturbing to see his body attached to Inoue…

Kon opens his eyes, and he can't believe it! He's attached to his goddess of the great mountains, Inoue-san! Inoue lets out a yelp of surprise when Kon yanks her up into a hug with his free arm.

"If I have to stay with you like this forever, I won't mind at all!" Kon says, making a blissfully happy smile, appear on Ichigo's face, which makes Ichigo in his Shinigami form, turn red in anger. Ishida looks angry enough to kill.

"We have to get them apart now!" Ishida growls angrily.

"Kon, behave yourself or I'll kick you where it counts!" Rukia warns him, which causes Ichigo to sputter.

"Rukia don't do that to my body!" Ichigo roars at her, and she rolls her eyes at him. Kon lowers his head and rests his cheek against Inoue-san's monstrous bosom and begins to rub his cheek around.

"I've died and gone to heaven!" Kon says excitedly with a sigh. Ichigo begins to stomp when Kon moves his hips in the hugging action, against Inoue's front, and her eyes widen when she feels Kurosaki-kun's…_thing_ against her.

Suddenly, Kon is bashed forcefully in the back of the head by Ishida, Ichigo, and Rukia, all at the same time. Ichigo immediately turns around, and crosses his arms as he grumbles.

"That was beyond disturbing." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia too feels a bit troubled by the vision that was just created due to Kon's constant need to be perverted. Ishida can only nod his agreement.

Inoue is standing there blushing, wondering whether or not it was all worth it, even though it wasn't actually Kurosaki-kun to held her and pressed his face up against her breasts…it smelled like him, and felt like him, but everyone else seems really upset by this.

"Sorry about that, Inoue." Rukia says, as she has a look on her face like she wants to puke.

"It's okay…he didn't…hurt me." Inoue says, and Ichigo scoffs.

"Can you get my body detached from her now?" Ichigo asks Rukia, and she looks at him.

"I can use kidou to try and counter it. I could use some help." Rukia says, and Ishida slides forward.

"Can my Seele Schneider be of any use?" Ishida asks, as he pulls his special weapon out of his pocket. Rukia's eyes widen as she looks at it, and when he shows her how it works like a chainsaw, her eyes widen as she looks impressed.

"Ooh!" Rukia says, as her eyes light up.

"It's okay if Kurosaki's body gets a little bloody, Inoue can patch him up, right afterwards." Ishida says, causing Ichigo to sputter and Rukia to nod her head enthusiastically.

"Ichigo did say to do whatever it takes." Rukia says, and Ishida's eyes gleam as he takes a step closer to Inoue and Kon in Kurosaki's body, who is still knocked out, or would otherwise be putting up a mighty big struggle.

Ichigo watches dumbstruck, as Ishida gets closer and closer to his body with his chainsaw-like weapon, and part of him wants to protest, but the other part of him, truly does want his body detached from Inoue, at any cost.

Inoue looks fairly frightened, and Ishida realizes he probably shouldn't look so gleeful as he does this.

"Don't worry, Inoue-san, I'll have you out of this in a minute." Ishida says, trying to be comforting.

The moment the Seele Schneider cuts into Ichigo's skin, Kon immediately wakes up. He screams bloody murder when he sees blood traveling down his arm, and Ishida standing there with a buzzing weapon, and a psychotic look in his eyes.

Ichigo didn't realize his face was capable of making such a ridiculous expression, nor did any of them expect Kon to yank Inoue up into his arms and take off at top speed.

"Don't worry my dear Inoue-san! I won't let anyone tear us apart!" Kon promises her, and Inoue looks with concern at his wound.

"Your arm!" Inoue says, and Kon gives her Ichigo's best heroic and confident look, while adding his own goofy smile along with it.

"This is nothing, don't worry about it. No amount of pain is too much, when I'm with you." Kon declares, and then he lifts Inoue higher so that he can rub his head against her heavenly chest again.

Unfortunately for Kon, Ichigo got so fucking pissed off, that he went bankai, and he reaches out to grab Kon by the collar and swings him around so hard that Kon lets go of Inoue.

Ichigo slams Kon's head down into the ground, and his actions cause Kon and Inoue both to wind up face down, on the cement. Inoue got knocked out momentarily on the landing though. Ichigo waits for Rukia and Ishida to catch up.

When Ishida gets there, he quickly cuts down the binding, and Kon screams as blood keeps running down his arm. When he gets them apart, the remainder of the kidou dissipates, and Inoue doesn't hesitate to start healing Kon who is bawling and begging her to let him die while pressed up once more against her amazing mountains, but her barrier keeps him from being able to attempt such a thing.

Ichigo is quite irritated at Kon's behavior, and he can't wait to punish the perverted mod soul a whole hell of a lot more in the future.

"Thanks Rukia, Ishida." Ichigo says, and Rukia grins at him.

"I thought you were going to start crying." Rukia teases him, but it's all still too fresh for Ichigo, who feels like he's been completely traumatized by this hellish experience.

"I wanted to cry," Ichigo admits, with a near whimper, and then he grabs Rukia up into a hug.

"Ichigo!" Rukia says in surprise, as she blushes. Ichigo whispers into her ear, and Rukia can't stop blushing when he does.

"You're the only girl I'd ever want to be stuck to." Ichigo whispers in her ear, and Rukia hugs him back.

"You already are stuck with me, fool." Rukia says, and Ichigo smiles.

"Thank heavens for that." Ichigo mutters.

Inoue looks away from the scene and decides her plan was a disaster after all, because Kurosaki-kun never once even slightly, liked the idea of being stuck to her.

"I'm glad you're okay, Inoue-san." Ishida says hesitantly, and Inoue nods her head slightly.

"I have to get back to class!" Inoue says suddenly, and Ishida hurries to stand next to her.

"I'll walk you!" Ishida offers, and they hurry off towards class.

Ichigo and Rukia finally pull away from one another and glance down at Kon, who is looking a bit frazzled from his exciting time in Ichigo's body.

"Rukia…let's skip class, go home, and come up with a hundred different ways to torture him." Ichigo says, as he points angrily at Kon. Rukia crosses her arms and gives him a hard look.

"You're absolutely right. He shouldn't get off so easy, for making us both have to see what it would be like if you were all over Inoue." Rukia says, and Ichigo feels a creepy chill slide through his body at those words.

Rukia smacks the gikongan out of Ichigo's body and shoves it back into the stuffed animal. Ichigo hurries back into his own body.

From above, Rangiku-san worries for her own safety, should either of the two of them ever find out what she did, but if anybody tells…she'll kill them. She pops a piece of delicious candy.

"Maybe I'd better stick close to the captain for awhile." Rangiku-san says, and she squawks when she hears her captain yelling at her.

"Matsumoto! Where in the hell are you, and why aren't you working?!" His voice is so loud for such a tiny person. She can't let him find her here, screwing around.

"Now is a good time to be busy with work!" Rangiku says with a smile, as she hurries to open the gates to Soul Society.

_The next day…_

Kon feels like all of his stuffing has been compromised, but no matter how he looks at it, yesterday was a great day.

Rukia and Ichigo blush a bit, as they hurry out of his bedroom.

Things had…happened last night, and both of them feel a hell of a lot better. Rukia can't stop smiling, all the way to school.

_He said he loves me!_


	32. As Requested: Surprise, Surprise! 3

**A/N-I had more than one request again, to continue on from chapters 17 & 26. This is dedicated to the people that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Surprise, Surprise 3_

"So you're the amazing girl who made it possible to kill Aizen…" Renji says, as he gives her a look of appreciation.

"I've seen you around before, who are you?" Tatsuki asks him, as she leans up against the wall.

Soul Society is having a huge party, to celebrate the defeat of Aizen and his henchmen. Even the Captain Commander has decided to throw away the rules for the night, and truly enjoy himself. He was ordered to, in secret, by Soul Society's King. Everyone who participated in the battle is present at the party.

Renji can't help but to admire the young woman who took on, and reflected all of Soul Society's power, and lived to tell about it.

"Abarai Renji, Sixth Division Lieutenant." Renji says, and Tatsuki notices how proud he is of that fact.

"Arisawa Tatsuki, high school student," Tatsuki says, looking back at him.

"You're friends with Ichigo, right?" Renji asks, and Tatsuki nods her head.

"And Inoue Orihime." Tatsuki says, and Renji nods his head at that.

"I know her." Renji says, and Tatsuki nods.

"How do you know Ichigo?" Tatsuki asks, and Renji grins at her.

"I'm a friend of Rukia's. We've been friends since we were kids." Renji explains.

"It's the same for Ichigo and I. We've been friends since we were four." Tatsuki tells him, and Renji nods again.

"You were really impressive today." Renji tells her, and Tatsuki winks at him.

"It was pure luck that I didn't die in the process." Tatsuki assures him, and Renji smiles at her.

"Don't underplay how much you did. Nobody in Soul Society would be brave enough to take on the attacks of everyone else, like you did…except for maybe Ichigo. I could see him doing something like that." Renji says, and Tatsuki laughs.

"Speaking of which, do you know where he is?" Tatsuki asks, and Renji shakes his head.

"He and Rukia went off to be in private somewhere. I guess they had things they wanted to say to each other that they couldn't say here." Renji says, and Tatsuki nods her head.

"They're in love, huh?" Tatsuki asks, as she remembers them kissing.

"They're just admitting it. They've loved each other, since I met him." Renji says quietly.

Renji will never forget the heartbroken look on Ichigo's face, as Rukia told him not to move, and not to come after her. It was usual, for guys to fall head over heels in love with Rukia, after spending a bit of time with her. Ichigo was one of dozens….yet Ichigo had been different from the others.

_Rukia actually went against me, to help Ichigo. _

"How long ago did you meet him?" Tatsuki asks curiously.

"July, of this past year." Renji answers shortly.

"Oh, that's when Ichigo's and my birthday is," Tatsuki says, and Renji gulps. He hopes they didn't drag Rukia away on Ichigo's fucking birthday.

"When's your birthday?" Renji asks, and Tatsuki grins.

"July seventeenth." Tatsuki replies, and Renji tries not to think about the fact that he may or may not have taken Rukia back to Soul Society on Ichigo's birthday.

Keigo comes zooming up to Tatsuki, earning him an involuntary punch in the face from her since he comes too close.

"Arisawa-" Keigo's voice is cut off and he crumbles to the ground.

"Oh, Keigo! I didn't see you there." Tatsuki says, looking down at him.

"Never mind that…you're not going to believe what I just saw!" Keigo says, as he winces and tries to get back onto his feet.

"He insisted on being the one who told you," Mizuiro says, and Tatsuki looks at Keigo with a bit more curiosity.

"What did you see?" Tatsuki asks him.

"Ichigo down on one knee, in front of Kuchiki-san." Keigo says.

"What?!" Isshin's voice is so loud that many people shut up to look at him.

"Ichigo proposed to Rukia-chan?" Isshin booms at the top of his lungs. His ears perk up when he hears a zanpakutou get yanked out of a sheath, and Isshin uses shunpo to cut the person off, before they can head out the doors to where Ichigo and Rukia are.

"Where'd he go?" Keigo asks as he looks from left to right.

"You may not intrude." Isshin says, as he points his zanpakutou at Kuchiki Byakuya.

"Excuse me?" Byakuya says in a testy voice. "You move out of my way or I'll cut you down first." Byakuya says, and the drunk Captain Commander is holding up his hand at Byakuya, but he can't get the words out properly.

"I hope Rukia-chan forgives me." Isshin says, causing Byakuya's eyes to widen, as Isshin's eyes glow with a dark blue haze. Byakuya crumples to the floor.

"That was White Kneeling, wasn't it?!" Nanao asks Isshin, with a look of surprise in her eyes.

"You caught me." Isshin says, and Nanao looks impressed.

"You're amazing!" Nanao says, and Isshin blushes.

"You flatter me too much." Isshin says, before he glances out the doorway. It's true, his son is on his knee before Rukia. Isshin wonders what kind of long winded speech his son is giving, that would require him to be on one knee for this long.

_Outside…_

(right before they're spotted by Keigo and Mizuiro)

"Ichigo, why did you drag me out here, when there's a party inside?" Rukia asks curiously.

"I had some things I wanted to say to you more privately." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia nods her head.

"Oh." Rukia says, as she glances back towards the party. Maybe she never told Ichigo how much she likes parties…

Ichigo takes a deep breath and drops to one knee. Rukia gasps at that action.

"Rukia…for a long time I've cared about you. It was already much stronger than I even realized, until you were taken away from me by Byakuya and Renji. It was then that I woke up, and realized how much you meant to me. No matter how much we were separated from each other, my feelings for you, only grew stronger." Ichigo takes a deep breath, and raises his eyes, to stare into her mesmerizing blue ones.

"Ichigo!" Rukia says in an aching voice.

"Being apart from you is the hardest. I feel like I've lost a piece of myself, whenever you're not with me. I don't want to be apart from you anymore. I don't care how it happens, so long as it happens. If you want me to beg you to be my wife, I'll beg you. Please don't leave me anymore." Ichigo says in an aching voice.

"Ichigo…" Rukia whispers, as tears well up in her eyes.

"Rukia, I love you, and I'll keep loving you for an eternity. I respect you, I cherish you, and I never want to be without you again. Marry me. Be with me. Please Rukia, just say you love me." Ichigo whispers, and Rukia can't stop bawling long enough to tell him what he wants to hear, and so he stays on one knee, patiently waiting for her to get a grip on herself.

"Why do you have to be so sweet?" Rukia whispers achingly. Ichigo scowls at that.

"I'm _not_ sweet…_answer me_, damn it!" Ichigo growls, and Rukia grins down at him.

"I love you…and yes." Rukia says, and Ichigo stays on his knees to draw her in for a kiss. They're both suddenly aware that it seems like the whole party is cheering, and Isshin is leading the crowd, by jumping around in the doorway like a maniac.

"I approve! What a cute girl you caught!" Isshin screams loudly, causing Ichigo and Rukia blush, until Rukia notices a figure crumpled to the ground at Isshin's feet.

"Ni-sama?" Rukia says, and she tries to pull away from Ichigo to run inside, but Ichigo grabs her back to kiss her again. Rukia keeps squirming, but Ichigo wins the battle.

"Rukia, your brother probably just got knocked out by my father," Ichigo says, before he presses his lips back against hers.

She realizes that Ichigo is probably correct, and she decides not to worry about her brother for once. All she can do, is smile and kiss Ichigo.

_Ni-sama will probably have recurring dreams starring the Kurosaki men._


	33. As Requested: Our Own

**A/N-This chapter is done by request, I had a PM to continue the babysitting chapter, with Rukia and Ichigo having their own. It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

**I got the babies names from a website with Japanese names and meanings, though I already had someone say Rini does not mean little bunny, I keep seeing it when I check different sites, so for the sake of the story, Rini still means "Little Bunny," and Mika means "New Moon." **

_Our Own_

"They both look like you." Ichigo whispers, as he hugs his wife from behind her. Rukia smiles, as they stare at the two cribs, side by side.

"Maybe if we ever have a boy, he'll look like you." Rukia says, smiling.

They only just got home from the hospital, and Rukia is terribly nervous, when it comes to caring for hers and Ichigo's tiny daughters. Rukia had gone through so much trouble giving birth to twins with her tiny frame, that Ichigo hadn't dared to argue when she picked out both names.

She never forgot that one name either. Their oldest daughter is named Rini, and her twin is named Mika.

"I can't believe how much differently I look at life, now that we have them." Ichigo says, as he stares with love at Rini and Mika.

"How do you look at it differently?" Rukia asks curiously, and Ichigo blushes as she turns her head to the side and looks up to be able to see his face as he responds.

"I just feel so much more protective." Ichigo mutters, with embarrassment, and Rukia looks appalled.

"You're protective enough as it is!" Rukia insists. Ichigo smiles down at his daughters.

"No dating until you're thirty-five." Ichigo croons, and Rukia gives him a weird look.

"Why do you sound like that?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo rolls his eyes. No matter how many times he explains baby talk to her, she still doesn't get or comprehend it.

"Never mind… Ichigo mutters, and Rukia raises an eyebrow.

Ichigo is saved from having to explain anything any further, because the doorbell rings.

"You go and get the door. I'll stay with them." Rukia says, with a soft and happy smile, as she looks down in wonder at her own beautiful baby girls.

Ichigo lets go of her, and runs to go answer the door. When he opens it, his father and sisters are standing there with smiles and presents.

"Dad, we got home less than ten minutes ago…couldn't you give us an hour of peace before you barged in here?" Ichigo asks.

Isshin's answer is a sound punch to the face.

"Are you okay?" Yuzu asks, as Ichigo holds his face, and glares at his father.

"Where are my grandchildren?!" Isshin's voice is as always loud as fuck.

"Will you keep your voice down for once in your life?! They're sleeping!" Ichigo snaps, and Isshin grins at him.

"They may as well get used to it now. Because I'm going to come over every day to visit the little angels." Isshin announces, and Ichigo looks horrified.

"Everyday?!" Ichigo utters, and Isshin grins at him.

"That's right. I miss having young ones around! I can hardly wait until they're old enough to run around with me. I guess I'll go to the nursery." Isshin tells him, and Ichigo glares after his father.

Yuzu and Karin step inside with smiles. Karin crosses her arms and smirks at her brother, while Yuzu fidgets and stares in the direction of the nursery.

"You should thank me. He wanted to leave almost an hour ago, so that we could greet you as you got home with the twins. At least you got to get in the door before he showed up." She informs him, and Ichigo scowls. He doesn't notice how antsy Yuzu has become.

"I want to see them too!" Yuzu squeals, with barely contained excitement.

Ichigo closes the door, and follows the rest of his family back into the nursery. When he gets back, his father has Rini, and Yuzu has Mika. Rukia is staring at Yuzu like she's lost her mind, because of the way she's talking to her dear infant.

"Who's a cute baby?! You are! You are!" Yuzu says with a bright and sunny smile. Rukia's gaze shifts to Isshin, and she looks a bit more relieved at how he's handling Rini.

"You're beautiful!" Isshin is nearly shouting, but he has such a happy expression on his face, that Rukia smiles at him. "They really will look just like you, Rukia-chan!" Isshin says, as he beams at her.

"Lower your fucking voice, before you break their eardrums." Ichigo orders his father, and Isshin give Ichigo a rare scowl, since he can't punch him while he's got the baby in his arms.

"Rukia-chan, kick him for me." Isshin says, and Rukia moves so quickly that Ichigo can only widen his eyes in shock, as Rukia kicks him hard in the shin.

"Watch your mouth around the babies!" Rukia snaps, and Isshin chuckles merrily at the look of outrage on Ichigo's face.

"Rukia…" Ichigo mutters, but that's all he says, because when he straightens up and meets her gaze, she looks awfully serious.

"I mean it! You should get in the habit now, because I can't have them as toddlers, seeing ni-sama and cussing at him!" Rukia says, to reinforce her point. Ichigo rolls his eyes.

Rukia is no longer paying attention to Ichigo though, her eyes widen as she smells something utterly vile hit her nose.

"Oh fuck…I'm going to be sick!" Rukia cries as she tears out of the room, and Ichigo glares out after her.

"Who was just talking about swearing in front of the kids?!" Ichigo roars, and Karin can't help it, she laughs. Ichigo turns his head to glare at her, but she shrugs at him.

"Who was the one saying that shouting could burst their eardrums?" Karin asks him with a grin.

"Shut up!" Ichigo yells, but then he realizes why Rukia tore off.

Isshin is pulling away Rini's diaper, but she's not the culprit. Yuzu without any hesitation moves Mika to the changing table and begins to change her niece, without a word of complaint in regards to the smell. Ichigo watches, impressed as his sister takes care of his daughter like a pro.

"Where did you learn that?" Ichigo asks, his surprise evident in his voice.

"I've had lots of friends who had baby brothers or sisters. I've been able to do this since I was nine." Yuzu says, and Ichigo laughs.

"Rukia can't take the smell of human waste." Ichigo says, and Isshin grins.

Isshin remembers well, the time Rukia-chan called him over to give Ichigo a physical because she was sure something was terribly wrong with him. She had good reason to believe so, because she entered the bathroom right after he exited, and because of what she smelled, she was certain something was _really _wrong with Ichigo.

His son had been so angry, and embarrassed that Rukia had involved him, but Isshin still laughs at that memory.

"You telling me her shit doesn't stink?" Karin asks, earning her a glare from her father.

"It literally smells like flowers, when she finishes in the bathroom." Ichigo says, as he shakes his head at the irony.

"Seriously?" Karin asks, disbelieving…even though she remembers a few mornings when she entered the bathroom back when Rukia lived with all of them, and it had smelled like flowers.

"You should have seen her when we babysat Ishida's daughter. She thought we were going to have to do a soul burial on their kid before they got home, because the smell was so foul." Ichigo says, and that has his entire family laughing.

"You're kidding, right?" Isshin asks, as he keeps laughing.

"No…but it did stink like hell." Ichigo says, and he wrinkles his nose at the memory.

"If ever you and Rukia-chan need a hand over here, don't hesitate to tell me!" Yuzu says, and Ichigo jumps when he hears Rukia shout from another part of the house.

"Thanks Yuzu!" Rukia shouts, and Ichigo realizes the baby monitor is on.

"She was listening to us." Ichigo grumbles.

"Still am!" Rukia shouts, and Ichigo stomps out of the room, to go and locate his wife.

_Later that night…_

"Holy shit, I think everyone we know came over today." Ichigo grumbles, as Rukia breastfeeds Mika.

"They were all happy for us. We didn't just receive one miracle, we received two!" Rukia says, and Ichigo smiles in agreement. He's holding Rini, so that Rukia can switch babies when she's ready.

Suddenly, the smell of fresh flowers fills his nostrils.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me…Rukia…did you know about this?" Ichigo asks, as he stares at his oldest daughter.

"That one I can change, no problem." Rukia confirms, as she grins at him. She had been waiting for him to notice, she can hardly believe it took this long.

"People are going to think that this is so weird." Ichigo says as he looks at his oldest daughter with a strange look on his face. Rukia shakes her head in complete confusion.

"Seems to me that humans don't always know how to appreciate a good thing." Rukia says, and Ichigo gives her a strange look.

"It's not normal for shit to smell like flowers!" Ichigo tells her, as he walks Rini over to the changing table.

As he peels the diaper away, he half expects to discover that his daughter actually crapped a bouquet of flowers, but it looks like normal infant poop to him.

"This is going to freak out all of the babysitters." Ichigo grumbles, even though he smiles widely, since his back is to his wife.

"Hmph. I still say humans don't know a good thing when it's right in front of their face." Rukia says, and Ichigo turns around to grin at her.

"Shinigami don't always know it either." Ichigo says with a pointed look. Rukia smiles at him, and nods her head to concede to his point.

_But we know it, we have two beautiful infants, and that's a wonderful thing._


	34. As Requested: Rukia's Revenge

_**A/N-This is a request that I had, to do a sequel to Inoue's Plot, where Rukia finds out exactly who bound Inoue to Ichigo. It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**_

_Rukia's Revenge_

When two hollows appeared in different places within Karakura Town simultaneously, Rukia and Ichigo split up. The one that was near Inoue, Rukia went to kill. The other hollow was in the opposite direction, even though it's not a threat to any of their friends, it's a hollow that needs to be exterminated none the less.

Ever since Ichigo got bound to Inoue, he's done his best to stay as far away from her as possible, to avoid being bound to her ever again. If they were all walking together, Ichigo would make sure he was standing in between Rukia and Sado.

That's why, when Rukia offered to take the hollow near Inoue, Ichigo hadn't offered any argument whatsoever. He had nodded his head, they jumped out his window, and flew off in opposite directions.

Unfortunately, as Rukia approached closer to the hollow's position, she realized that it is moving even closer to Inoue. Rukia hurries, since she doesn't want anything to happen to her friend.

When Rukia arrives by Inoue's apartment, she senses the hollow, but she doesn't see it.

Rukia's eyes widen in horror, when she realizes that the hollow is inside of Inoue's apartment. Rukia lets herself through the wall, and she arrives just in time to see the hollow about to devour Inoue's soul as she sleeps deeply.

"How in the hell can she sleep through this?!" Rukia asks herself as she flies in and kills the hollow.

Rukia breathes a sigh of relief that Inoue is unharmed, and the hollow is disposed of, no problems at all.

"No…Rangiku-san, don't bind me to Kurosaki-kun again…he hated being stuck to me…" Inoue mutters in her sleep as she groans and turns.

Rukia's eyes widen as she stares at her friend.

"Now I know who's responsible." Rukia says, as she clenches her fists.

Rukia leaves quickly, without even considering how hard life has been for her friend since her plot failed miserably. Not only has she grown further apart from Kurosaki-kun, now he doesn't even like to be near her. He even looks nervous when she tries to heal him these days.

There was no doubt about it, Kurosaki-kun didn't want to be stuck to her, or even be near her. It's affected her dreams, and it's crawled into her brain like some sort of flesh eating disease. Her self-confidence was blown to bits by Kurosaki-kun.

Inoue also feels guilty that she liked it when Kon carried her off. It wasn't even Kurosaki-kun, only his shell of a body with someone else inside. She has gotten so obsessed that she's been trying to figure out how to have a secret rendezvous with Kon, without anybody else finding out. The thing is, that her plot failed so badly last time, she can't try anything else. It will only be a seemingly attainable fantasy.

_The Next Day…_

"Why do you have to go back?!" Ichigo asks, and Rukia can tell he's worried about how long it will be until they get to see each other again. Their relationship is still so new that he really doesn't want to let her out of his sight.

"I have things to take care of. Once that's finished, I'll be back." Rukia tells him in a firm voice.

Ichigo's face falls. He can tell by her tone of voice that there is no chance to change her mind about going back. She'll do it whether or not she has his approval. Even though they're together, she still wears the fucking pants in the relationship, not that he'd actually admit that out loud to anyone.

"Before you leave…" Ichigo says, and Rukia is quite startled when he's all over her in an instant.

Ichigo wants to make love to her, in case she's gone awhile. He doesn't want to wish later on that he'd grabbed her up, he'd rather be glad that he grabbed her up. He kisses her hungrily and she melts against him, when he does that.

"Ichigo…" Rukia says, since she wants to reassure him that she won't be gone for long, but the look in his eyes, makes her keep her reassurances to herself. He's looking at her so intently, his eyes full of love and desire, and she would never, and could never do anything to purposely make that look leave his face.

"I don't want you to leave…but if you have to go, I want this." Ichigo tells her huskily.

"Kiss me, idiot." Rukia whispers, and Ichigo does just that, before he removes her Shinigami robes, and pops out of his own body, so that they can make love, before she leaves.

_In Soul Society…_

When Rukia runs through the gate, she has a big stupid grin on her face, since Ichigo got all emotional and romantic as they made love before she left.

She had to force herself not to laugh at him, when he asked her if he could come with her.

She doesn't want to tell him what she found out, since she got the information from a sleeping person. She'll tell him, after she verifies the truth, and gives Matsumoto a bit of payback for binding _her_ Ichigo to Inoue Orihime.

Rukia hurries around Soul Society, and she finds quite a treasure. Not Matsumoto, but that's okay. This person will help her get the information that she wants. Rukia smiles and then she hurries to step in front of Oomaeda who is stuffing rice cakes down his throat at an alarming rate.

"Lieutenant Oomaeda!" Rukia says as she steps in front of his path.

"Kuchiki?" Oomaeda says, as he looks at the tiny woman in front of him.

"I just thought you should know, that Lieutenant Matsumoto was looking for you, she said she had something that you would enjoy eating!" Rukia says, and she cringes inwardly at the mental picture that enters her mind after she said that.

Rukia quickly tries to erase the visual image of Lieutenant Oomaeda eating out Lieutenant Matsumoto…it's just wrong.

"I'd better go and find her then!" Oomaeda says, and he sidesteps Rukia to hurry off in search of Lieutenant Matsumoto. Rukia grins, and then she follows him covertly.

When he finds her, she's snuck away from her captain, and is slacking off drinking some sake.

"I've been looking for you!" Oomaeda says, and Matsumoto gives him a look of surprise.

"Why in the hell would you be looking for me?" She asks, and he scowls.

"Have you had so much to drink that you forget what comes out of your own mouth?" Oomaeda says, and Matsumoto shoots him an icy and threatening glare.

Rukia is holding in her laughter…she can't give away her position just yet…

Oomaeda begins to approach Matsumoto, and Rukia quietly begins her chant.

"Watch how you talk to me! I won't hesitate to cut you!" Matsumoto threatens him, but he doesn't look to concerned.

"I'm not worried about fighting someone who's drunk. Where are the treats?" He asks her as she gets closer to her. Matsumoto stands, and puts her hands on her hips.

"You sound like a talking dog. Why in the hell would I have treats for you?" She asks him, and Rukia grins, since they're close enough to each other for her spell to be effective.

"Kuchiki-" Oomaeda is quickly cut off, and Matsumoto comes to the realization a bit too late that Kuchiki means Rukia and not Byakuya.

Rukia envelopes them in a much more intimate binding than what Matsumoto had laid out for Inoue and Ichigo. It's a much more powerful version of crawling rope to allow their arms freedom as they're bound together.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Matsumoto screeches, as her breasts push into Oomaeda and his overflowing fat.

"I'll give you three guesses." Rukia says, as she steps out of her hiding spot. Matsumoto's face turns white, and she realizes that somehow, Rukia figured it out.

Matsumoto thinks fast, and despite the fact that she's had too much to drink, she comes to the smart and logical conclusion that Orihime would have never admitted her scheme to Rukia.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Matsumoto shrieks, and Rukia crosses her arms.

"Denying it won't work. Too bad Inoue accidentally blabbed…" Rukia says, and Matsumoto gasps.

"Shit!" Matsumoto swears, and that's all Rukia needs for a confession.

"Kuchiki! When I get out of this, you're dead meat!" Oomaeda yells, feeling like a fool.

Rukia scoffs. She's too angry to feel submissive today.

"You should be thanking me, when was the last time you were that close to a woman? Have you ever been that close to one?" Rukia asks, and Oomaeda turns a deep shade of red.

"Don't think you can get away with disrespecting two lieutenants like this!" Oomadea yells, and Rukia rolls her eyes at his rant. She whips Sode No Shirayuki from her sheath, and she holds her zanpakutou up.

"Maybe you weren't aware of this, but I am certainly powerful enough to be a lieutenant. Don't assume that the title would scare me, should you choose to turn your blade on me." Rukia warns him, and then she smiles at them.

"You bitch!" Oomaeda yells, but suddenly Rukia adjusts the bindings, to make things just a little bit more uncomfortable for them.

Matsumoto's body slides upwards, so that her feet are lifted off the ground, and her robe only barely moves to the side from the friction of her moving, but Oomaeda can't tear his eyes off of that monstrous cleavage.

"Have fun!" Rukia calls out with a laugh, and then she disappears. Her spell will last for at least an hour. She doesn't even need five minutes to go back to the Senkai Gate.

Matsumoto's eyes widen as she realizes that Rukia just left her…attached to one of the most annoying men in Soul Society.

"How did this happen?" Matsumoto cries, and Oomaeda smiles, and he realizes he is a bit thankful that he gets to stay near that amazing cleavage, since he'd never get that close to it any other way.

"What a great rack." Oomaeda says, and he uses his hand to squeeze her huge left boob.

Matsumoto shrieks and grows furious with him. Her hand immediately goes to the hilt of her zanpakutou. She rips out her blade and glares at him. Oomaeda realizes he's in trouble, but he doesn't remove his hand from her breast.

"Growl, Haineko!" Matsumoto calls out, and then she narrows her eyes at Oomaeda. "Remove your hand from my breast or I'll remove your left nut." She threatens him, and his hand swiftly moves off of her breast.

She cuts him up his legs and back anyways, because she's so pissed off, but she didn't think about the consequences of such an action. Oomaeda tumbles backwards, and Matsumoto falls with him, landing on top of his lard ass belly as he smacks the ground.

Matsumoto lets out a very frustrated and angry scream…she can't even report this incident, because she shouldn't have been out drinking, and to be one upped by someone who was below her status would make her lose face. Oomaeda must realize it too, because all he does for the next hour is enjoy the feeling of a beautiful woman laying on top of him, while she practically pukes from being so close to his disgustingness.

_Meanwhile, in the living world…_

"Shit! It's a hollow!" Ichigo says, and Kon jumps up to his stuffed animal feet.

"Let me use your body! I haven't been in it in so long!" Kon cries, and Ichigo scowls at the memory of Kon all over Inoue, but because his family is around, he obliges Kon.

"Behave yourself!" Ichigo orders, and he flies out the window. Kon grins and hops out the window too.

"Like I'm going to stick around your family of freaks. I'm going to go outside and enjoy having this body for awhile!" Kon says, and he begins to walk up the street.

After about ten minutes of walking, he's suddenly tapped on the back, and when he turns around to see who tapped him, his eyes widen at the wondrous sight of his beautiful angel, Inoue-san.

"I'm not talking to Kurosaki-kun right now, am I? Inoue asks, to start off, but Kon wonders if he can convince her otherwise.

Inoue is pretty damned sure that it's not Kurosaki-kun since he isn't moving away from her quickly, like his habit has been as of late. Kon is pissed that his beautiful angel looks so sad.

"I've been such a jerk to you. It's me, Inoue." Kon says, attempting his very best impression of Ichigo.

Inoue is positive now that it isn't Kurosaki-kun, but she refuses to allow herself the chance to concentrate on his reiatsu to prove herself right, because her fantasy practically fell into her lap.

"Is it really you, Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue asks, knowing full well that it isn't.

"It's really me. Let me make it up to you, please." Kon says, as he does his best to keep his eyes on her face, like Ichigo would do. He won't stare at her breasts no matter how much he wants to, not right now anyways.

"I'd like that. Are you going to take me out for ice cream?" Inoue asks, and neither of them notice Keigo across the street, with his jaw hanging wide open at the sight of Ichigo flirting with Inoue.

"No…come with me." Kon says as he puts his arm around her and lets his hand rest on her breast. Inoue blushes, and she wishes Kurosaki-kun would act just like this, but he's not ever going to.

She only has the chance to enjoy it for a split second though, because suddenly Kon is yanked away from her, and Keigo is shoved at her.

Inoue yelps as Keigo practically falls into her arms."Way of Binding, Number Four, Crawling Rope!" Rukia hisses, an Keigo's eyes about pop out of his head as his head is pushed forcefully into Inoue-san's giant bosom.

"Kuchiki-san!" Inoue shouts out, when Rukia turns her back to leave.

Keigo stars moving his face around happily in Inoue's chest, and her eyes widen at the unexpected closeness. He starts to bite at her buttons to undo them, and Rukia spins around to glare at Inoue.

"Keigo's practically the same as Kon, so that should be good enough for you. Touch Ichigo, or take advantage of Kon's perverted nature again, you and I will be fighting for real!" Rukia shouts. She uses shunpo, to leave Inoue in the street with a highly perverted Keigo.

He succeeds at biting her shirt open and he sighs as his skin his real breast.

"This is the best day of my life!" Keigo croons, and Inoue just grimaces. She hopes Kuchiki-san's spell wears off soon, though she supposes she deserved it.

_At the Kurosaki residence…_

"Ichigo!" Rukia calls out as she hops through the window. Ichigo pops out of bed and his eyes widen. She wasn't gone for very long at all!

"Rukia!" Ichigo says, and he pops out of bed to greet her properly. Rukia walks over smiling and plants a big kiss on his lips.

"I was out getting major retribution." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo looks confused.

"What are you talking about?" Ichigo asks.

Rukia doesn't waste any time filling him in on what Inoue had confessed in her sleep, or what she'd done to Matsumoto for her part in the underhandedness.

"I was going to let Inoue slide, since it seemed punishment enough that you were so miserable being attached to her, but then I caught her and Kon acting like they were preparing to do something suspicious." Rukia explains, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"Kon! Where is that bastard?!" Ichigo roars, and Rukia points outside.

"He's on the ground below, knocked out by kidou." Rukia says, and Ichigo gets ready to deliver more punishment.

"I'll rip his liver out!" Ichigo roars, and Rukia grabs his arm.

"I decided that Inoue needed to pay for even considering doing something with Kon, and so I bound her to Keigo." Rukia finishes, and Ichigo's eyes practically pop out of his head.

"He must think it's his lucky day." Ichigo says, even as he hopes Keigo isn't becoming a rapist as they speak. "Oomaeda too." Ichigo says as he shakes his head.

"They shouldn't have fucked with you." Rukia says in a stubborn voice, and Ichigo grabs her up into his arms after she says that.

"Damn Rukia, you're the best!" Ichigo says, and he kisses her hard.

_She fights for me as viciously as I fight for her. Damn I love her for it!_


	35. As Requested: Competition

**A/N- I had a request to do a chapter where Ichigo and Rukia compete against one another. It's much longer than most of my one shots, which is why it was such a late update. This chapter ended up taking longer to write than I expected, because of what I wanted to do with it. It gets a bit lemony…**

**It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Competition _

"Class! We're having a writing contest. The top three places will each win money! The first place winner will receive ten thousand yen! The second place winner will receive five thousand yen! The third place winner will receive three thousand yen!" The sensei calls out in a loud voice.

Gasps of excitement fill the room. There isn't one person in the room who can't think of a way that they'd like to spend that kind of money.

Ichigo gets aggravated with himself instantly, since his first thought is, where he might be able to take Rukia to make her smile, if he wins one of the prizes. Then again, she has a powerful smile, and what's wrong with wanting to make her happy? She's saved his life more than once.

_I owe her. _

Ichigo lies to himself, even as he realizes he's doing it. He doesn't want to win just because he owes her. He wants to win, because he likes to see her smile, because he loves her.

Rukia is envisioning two armloads of Chappy stuffed animals, to be precise, she's imagining herself with an armload, and Ichigo with an armload. She imagines them lined up in rows, on Ichigo's bed, and then she thinks about the arcade, and she realizes she'd better work to win first place.

Tatsuki starts to imagine a new Gi, and new sparring gloves. She smiles wickedly, as she imagines herself decked out in classy new sports gear.

Inoue imagines buying new skirts and blouses, to catch Kurosaki-kun's attention. She keeps imagining him glancing at her, and then doing a double take, as he finally and suddenly realizes that he's been in love with her the whole time.

Inoue looks over at him, and sees his head is turned towards Kuchiki-san.

Her face falls for an instant. Inoue immediately motivates herself. He'll never notice her, if she doesn't try to get his attention. Maybe she'll get something that shows off her generous chest a little bit more. She wonders if that would gain Kurosaki-kun's attention.

Ishida immediately begins to think about all of the things he could buy at the sewing store, if he wins, he imagines creating a beautiful outfit that would make Inoue-san finally notice him as more than a friend.

Sado imagines buying a cute bird, since he never owned a normal cute bird before, only the possessed variety, that attract trouble and such. He wonders if his landlord would allow him to get a cat. He's always thought cats were amazingly cute, unless of course they were the kind that talked, and therefore gave you minor emotional trauma.

Keigo starts imagining treating the cutest girls in class to lunch, as they gather around him.

Mizuiro imagines buying his older girlfriend some sexy lingerie.

Chizuru is imagining buying Inoue several bras, so that she can model them in front of her, and hopefully change them in front of her too.

Yes, it seems everyone has already thought of a way to spend the money, before the teacher even tells them the details of the writing contest.

"Listen up! The piece will be a creative piece, no more than ten thousand words, no less than one thousand words! Any topic is fair game, so long as your piece is creative! If you plagiarize, you're disqualified. Good luck, class!" The teacher calls out, causing all of the smartest kids to grumble, since creative pieces aren't their strong point. Research pieces are where they excel.

Rukia's eyes grow big and round when she hears that. She can do creative, no problem! Ichigo notices Rukia's happy and excited smile at the sensei's announcement, and his eyes narrow at her.

_She doesn't actually think she's going to win, does she? _

Visions of rabbit stuffed animals dance around in Rukia's head.

"Give it up, you'll never win," Ichigo whispers at her, and Rukia crosses her arms as she scoffs.

"I'm getting first place." Rukia whispers back.

"No, I am." Ichigo says, and Rukia meets his eyes for the challenge.

"We'll see, who beats who." Rukia whispers, and Ichigo smirks at her.

An idea is forming in his head, an idea that scares the hell out of him, since there are people in the class who will know for a fact that it's not a creative piece, if they read his work. Even if he doesn't win the competition, Rukia's sure to admit defeat once she sees what he writes about. She'd probably faint, if she knew the topic. He'll write a love story.

Rukia begins to brainstorm to come up with a creative, original, winning idea. Ichigo is trying to figure out exactly how he'll write his piece, since he doesn't want to divulge in full detail, the secrets of his life.

"I know I said any topic is fair game, but if you win a money prize, keep in mind that you'll be reading your paper out loud to the class. So don't write about anything that you can't read out loud!" The sensei says, and there are a couple of groans from the most well known perverts from within the class, at that announcement.

"When is it due?" Kunieda asks, and the sensei smiles.

"One week from today." The teacher tells them.

Rukia keeps thinking hard about what her creative piece will be about. The bell rings, and everyone hurries to get out of class. Ichigo and Rukia walk side by side together, not noticing Inoue who is right behind them.

"I already told you, you're not going to win. It's impossible for a munchkin to beat me." Ichigo says, and Rukia elbows him in the gut. Ichigo grabs at his stomach and doubles over.

"How about we make a little bet on it, if you're so sure I won't win." Rukia says as she glares at him.

"What kind of bet?" Ichigo asks as he straightens up. Rukia smiles devilishly.

"Whatever you want. That's what I'll give you if you win. Of course you can't be asking me for impossible things, but you know what I mean." Rukia says, and her answer causes Ichigo to blush furiously.

_Doesn't she know where a man's head goes when a woman says she'll give him whatever he wants? _

"You sure you could handle that?" Ichigo asks, trying to hide his embarrassment.

Rukia grins and pulls Ichigo down a less crowded side hallway. Inoue is tempted to follow, but then she knows they'll notice her.

"_However_, if I win, you have to give me whatever I want. I'm pretty sure you should be asking yourself whether or not YOU can handle it." Rukia says, smiling up at him.

"That's easy to say now. What if you go back on your agreement when I win?" Ichigo asks, crossing his arms.

"Are you suspecting me of such a low thing?!" Rukia glares at him, and Ichigo sighs.

"What if you don't like what I want?" Ichigo asks her seriously, but Rukia winks at him.

"It won't matter, because you will not win!" Rukia says with a laugh, and Ichigo turns red.

"Nice way to dodge the question." Ichigo says stubbornly, and Rukia glances at him.

"I did answer. I don't intend to lose, but _if_ I do, I'll stick to the rules of the bet and give you whatever you want." Rukia assures him, and Ichigo blushes madly.

He begins to wonder if he could even ask for what he wants out loud. He wonders if he'll have to write it down, and let her read it while he showers or something, because he's pretty sure he won't want to see her face, when she learns what it is that he wants.

A Week Later…

"The winners will be announced next week, on Friday, good luck everyone!" The teacher says with a big smile as she takes the pile of assignments up in her hand.

Neither Rukia or Ichigo allowed the other to see what they'd written for the competition. There had been much tension the past week, due to the fact that neither of them actually wanted to lose the bet. All of their free time was spent working on their pieces, to make sure they turned in their best possible work.

Ichigo pulls Rukia off towards a pond on the way home from school, and they sit next to each other on the bench provided to relax.

"We should talk about this bet of ours. It's pretty vague. How long will the loser have to do whatever the winner wants?" Ichigo asks, wanting to make sure he understands it all, before he tells her what he wants, if he wins.

"Hmm. I'm not sure. I guess it depends on what we want. For example, if I wanted you to take me to an amusement park, then of course it would be an all day thing, but if I wanted you to give me a back massage, I would guess it wouldn't last more than an hour." Rukia says, and Ichigo blushes.

"What if you don't like what I want to do, and I'm not happy with the amount of time spent on it?" Ichigo asks carefully, not wanting to give away what it is that he's going to ask for.

"I wouldn't cheat on my end of the deal. We'd have to talk about it before the winner collected their winnings. We'll determine beforehand how long will be spent on giving the other person what they want, how does that sound?" Rukia says, and Ichigo nods his head.

"That sounds fair." Ichigo tells her.

He doesn't know how in the hell he's going to survive the next week, wondering who will win, and who will lose.

"Do you already know what you're going to ask me for?" Rukia asks, and she watches him blush furiously. He crosses his arms stubbornly at her.

"None of your business." Ichigo tells her, and she laughs.

"I already know too." Rukia says, and Ichigo watches her stand up and walk to the edge of the pond to look in.

_Is it wrong to ask for a sexual favor from her if I win? It's not like we've done anything like that before…if she didn't want to, I wouldn't push the issue. Maybe I should come up with a back-up plan, in case she gets mad at my request._

Ichigo begins to wonder what she'd want from him. He begins to dread the possibility of losing as a few horrible things come to mind, that she's certainly capable of asking him for.

_What if she wants to draw rabbits and strawberries all over my face, and then make me walk around town with her, painted up like that?_

_What if she wants to ask me embarrassing questions, or walk her to school and remove her shoes for her, and serve her all day long? What if she wants a slave for the day?_

Ichigo shivers, since he doesn't know whether or not it would be a good or a bad thing to be Rukia's slave, it could easily go either way, depending on her mood.

"Now I'm worried…" Ichigo mutters, but Rukia heard him, and so she turns and smiles at him.

"Ichigo…we're very close. Close enough that if we make a bet and agree to give the other person whatever they want, that we'd honor the conditions of the bet. I wouldn't agree to that kind of bet with just anyone." Rukia informs him, before she walks away from him, to head for home.

Ichigo can't help but to grin as he stands up to follow her. It hits him hard, that if she actually loses, she's willing to give him whatever he wants. His pants start to feel tighter, and he's glad that she's ahead of him, and not looking back to see his embarrassing condition. He holds his bag in front of his crotch to hide the evidence that "things" are going through his mind right now, namely what he'll want her to do, if he wins.

_The Next Friday…_

"Okay Class, the top three creative pieces have been chosen! To keep the suspense in place, I will announce the third place winner first! Kunieda Ryou! You're the third place winner, and you will receive your three thousand yen after the first place winner reads their piece. Please stand for the class and read your piece!" The teacher says, as she holds Kunieda's work in her hand.

Kunieda walks to the front of the class, to retrieve her paper from the teacher, and she clears her throat before she begins to read.

Within moments, everyone in the room is entranced, as Kunieda's piece is on a woman who works as an investigator, and uncovers a vicious plot to assassinate the top Japanese officials, and how the woman stopped them from doing so. It was a well written and riveting story, and all of the students clapped when she finished.

"Kuchiki Rukia! You have won second place! Please come up here and read your story to the class!" The teacher says, and Rukia feels a bit disappointed that she's second. She had been wanting first.

Rukia stands up and collects her paper from the teacher before she smiles for the class and begins to read her story.

"Hisana was different from other girls. She had an ability that most normal people didn't have. She was careful not to use her ability when she was around other people, since she didn't want to be called a witch." Rukia says, and she clears her throat, before she continues.

"She wasn't what you would consider a traditional witch. She's always distanced herself from other people, even though she's so beautiful. Her long dark brown hair was the envy of all of the girls in her class. He big gray eyes had the power to make you take a second look, and feel grateful, if she actually paid attention to you. She liked her powers, as unusual as they were, and she decided that having them was more important than making friends. She only ended up making a few friends, throughout her childhood, and none of them knew about her supernatural abilities." Rukia says, and everyone in the room is paying attention, even Ichigo. Rukia meets his eyes for a brief moment, before continuing.

"Most days, Hisana would to go into the woods, to practice with her abilities, and try to strengthen them. Telekinesis, visions, and teleportation were just a few of her abilities. When she met people, she could instantly see the most vile thing they'd ever done in their life, and the most caring thing that they have ever done." Rukia says, and she glances at the class, before continuing.

"That ability itself, proved to be a curse, and served to bring down her faith in other people altogether, for the most vile things that people do, make her sick to her stomach. So many people walk around with such great sins, staining their heart. Distancing herself from others seemed best, because she wasn't like them. She had no desire to hurt people, and she certainly had no desire to be traitorous, or promiscuous, in the ways she saw other people doing. It left her wondering whether or not she was even human at all." Rukia explains to the class. Ichigo raises an eyebrow, and wonders where she's going with her story.

"Her mother and younger sister didn't have the ability, and her mother liked to pretend that Hisana didn't have it either. She never yelled at Hisana for using her ability, but she never encouraged it either. That's why Hisana would go to private places to work on her abilities. She's sure that she can put them to use for the good of the world someday." Rukia says, and she takes another deep breath. The teacher is smiling and waiting for her to continue.

"When Hisana turned seventeen, she'd been going to the woods for ten years, to work on her abilities. For the first time ever, she got caught in the act of practicing." Rukia says, and everyone seems even more interested as she turns the page.

"A boy about her age, someone she'd never noticed before, is watching wide eyed as she directs rocks into the creek, using telekinesis. Hisana feels her whole body to shake, when she catches sight of him. His black hair, and pale blue eyes catch her attention immediately. For the first time in a long time, she sees the worst thing that someone has done is to get into a fist fight. Then she sees the end of the fight, since it is also the best thing he's done, where he frees a young girl from rope, and being tied up. He's assuring the girl that the man can't hurt her anymore. Hisana can't take her eyes off of him." Rukia says, and then she smiles a little.

"Hisana requests that he give her his name, to which he replies Byakuya." Rukia says, and this causes Sado, Inoue, Ishida, and Ichigo to all bulge their eyes at her.

_She had to use Byakuya?!_

"He's nervous of Hisana at first, but then she asks him to keep her ability a secret. She doesn't share with him that she has other abilities." Rukia says, and everyone is still listening intently. Rukia flips the page.

"Hisana finds that when she goes to bed, she can't get her mind off of the dark haired boy that she met. He's the first really good person that she's come across in a long time, and he's bound to think she's some sort of freak, for her unnatural abilities." Rukia says, and a few people in the class smile.

"She begins to worry that she'll be caught practicing again, and so she decides to move her area of training elsewhere. She walks around her town, until she finds an abandoned warehouse. It's locked from the inside, but with her abilities, it's not a problem to unlock the door as if she were on the inside. Hisana lets herself in, and looks around the space. She decides it will have to do. Her latest challenge is to see if she can actually levitate, using her telekinetic ability. She hasn't yet been successful, even though she's felt the pressure of her body trying to be lifted, during her attempts." Rukia says, and everyone just keeps paying attention.

"On her way home, from practicing, she passes by a corner store, and realizes that it's being held up. A man with a long knife is threatening the worker. Hisana is preparing to use her abilities to remove the knife from the man's hand, when he is attacked from behind by the same young man who caught her using her abilities. The man, Byakuya then gets attacked from behind by an accomplice of the criminal, who had been posing as a terrified customer." Rukia explains, and a few girls gasp at that. Rukia glances up at Ichigo, who is smiling at her, as she continues.

"Hisana felt an emotion that she'd never felt before. A good man like Byakuya didn't deserve to be stabbed, no, the men who deserved pain, were the men who had dared to hurt the man who haunted her dreams. Her emotions take over, and her logical mind shuts down. Within a minute, both men who attempted to hold up the store have shoved their knives into their own throats, killing themselves, do to Hisana's interference. Hisana's mind comes back into place after the men die, and she rushes over to Byakuya's side. She rips her knee length skirt up to about her mid thigh, and then rips the material the rest of the way around, even though it's an uneven rip, it doesn't matter, since she has a life to save." Rukia says, and this time she won't look at Ichigo's eyes, she just turns the page.

"Byakuya isn't passed out, but his face is to the side. He looks fairly nervous, but then she wraps his wound, and orders the clerk to call for an ambulance. He does, because he's pretty sure that the woman had something to do with the men killing themselves. Her hair had flown up into the air, and her eyes had practically glowed as she blanked out due to her fury." Rukia pauses and she keeps her eyes on her paper.

"Hisana stays with him until an ambulance arrives, and he only asks her one question the entire time they're together. Are you a monster, or are you an angel?" Rukia says, and it seems like everyone is getting into her story.

"That night, Hisana couldn't sleep at all. To be asked if she were a monster or an angel had been so shocking, she didn't know what to make of such a question. The man stirred wild and primitive emotions in her, and to think that he thought of her as a possible monster made her heart ache with sorrow." Rukia tells the class, and then she clears her throat again.

"She does her best to avoid him, which isn't overly hard, since he's in the grade above her, and they obviously don't take the same route to school, or he leaves at a much different time than her. She doesn't know where he lives, only that it must be nearby, considering the places she's seen him at. When she does finally run into him again, she has progressed, and can now levitate her own body and move it about two meters before she has to set herself down. She only stays about half a meter off the ground while she practices, so she doesn't hurt herself." Rukia says, and everyone is watching her avidly.

"She doesn't see him, before he sees her, otherwise she might have run away. Instead he sneaks up on her from behind, and taps her on the shoulder. Hisana turns around, and when she sees Byakuya, she gasps in nervousness. He smiles at her, and thanks her for saving his life. He tells her that the doctors say that if he would have been left for a minute longer before being assisted, that he would have died." Rukia explains, and everyone starts smiling.

"Hisana is very surprised, when he stares into her eyes, and tells her that he's decided that she's definitely an angel, and he asks her if it would be okay for him to take her on a date." Rukia says, and a few of the girls look giddy at this part of the story.

"Hisana blushes, and nods her head yes. He tells her then that he's glad she said yes, since he hasn't been able to get her out of his mind. Hisana smiles again, and he grabs her hand, and insists on walking her home. While walking, he asks her if she'd like to go with him to see a movie over the weekend, and she says yes. When he gets her to her front door, he tells her he's glad that he met her, and he leans down to give her a kiss. For the first time in her life, she's been kissed by a boy, and she very nearly floats into the house, after he watches her walk inside." Rukia says, and then she smiles.

"The dark haired woman tucks her son into bed. 'The couple ended up married, and they are your aunt and uncle, Keitaro. That is why you have that amazing ability. It runs in the family, though I don't have those abilities. In honor of having the gift, you must only use it for good,' Kaiya tells her young son." Rukia says, and some of the girls are smiling hugely at Rukia.

"They fell in love?" Rukia imitates a childish voice. "Keitaro asks his mother sleepily, and she smiles at him before she kisses his cheek. 'They fell madly in love, and never stopped loving each other, even after my sister died, her husband always prayed at her shrine everyday,' Kaiya tells her son. She stands up and leaves her son's room silently. She knows that her son can see the good in people, and she hopes he finds someone someday, just like her sister did….the end" Rukia says, and everyone claps for her story.

"Nice story Kuchiki! Now for first place winner, don't worry class, it was a shock to me too. Kurosaki Ichigo, come on up, and read your story to the class!" The teacher says, and Rukia's eyes widen as she walks back to her seat. Ichigo smirks at her, and she blushes.

_I actually lost…to him?!_

Ichigo feels his heart ramming in his chest. He hopes Rukia likes his story as much as he liked hers. It had certainly been interesting enough. He feels nervous, right before he begins.

"Taro was always different from his peers. He got into a lot of fights, and didn't date any of the girls he knew, because none of them interested him. He lived his life everyday like some sort of robot, since it seemed every day was the same as the day before it. The only unpredictable thing about his life was wondering who he'd be getting into a fight with next. His life felt empty, whenever he was sitting by himself, he'd realize it so strongly, that it was filled with emptiness." Ichigo says, but he doesn't look up yet. He takes a deep breath before continuing.

"Taro didn't believe in following the crowd, he always did his own thing, and he defended his right to do it. He didn't care what anybody else thought about him, and so other people's opinions never really mattered to him." Ichigo says, and some of the people in his class can see the resemblance between Ichigo's character and Ichigo himself. It's like he wrote a story on a character based on himself.

"Taro wasn't into the types of activities that most of his friends were into, to a lot of people, he seemed mysterious and hard to get close to. He didn't do a lot of smiling, since he'd experienced a lot of sadness in his young life. He only has one living parent, who works so much, it's like he doesn't have any parents at all. It was a sad, empty, and lonely life." Ichigo says, and he takes a deep breath, before he continues.

"He didn't expect it to change, he'd become used to what life means, and what it means to be in the company of other people. No matter where he went, where he looked, or who he met, he maintained his opinion that life was more a curse than a blessing, and he wonders why so many people consider it such a gift. How is it a gift, to have to live a life where happiness is at a minimum?" Ichigo says, and Inoue Orihime closes her eyes, and listens to his voice as he speaks.

"He was only fifteen, close to his sixteenth birthday, when everything suddenly changed, though he didn't realized it changed, at the exact moment it happened. That realization didn't come until much later. It all started because of a thirteen year old girl, who he never learns the name of. On his way home from school, he heard some strange noises coming from a side alley, that jutted off of another alley that he was walking past. He didn't see anything, and so he turned down the alley to peek into the one that jutted off of it, and what he saw made him sick to his stomach. Four full grown men, were relieving the young girl of her clothing. She had a gag in her mouth, even though she was still making sounds of protest and fear. Taro dropped his school bag, and ran in, to save the girl." Ichigo says, and everyone in the room's mouth drops open.

Everyone is wondering whether this part of the story comes from imagination, or if a situation like this ever actually happened to Ichigo. He doesn't pay attention to the looks of shock on his classmates faces, he simply continues.

"He got a black eye in the process, but he managed to save her from an unpleasant situation, and he removed the gag from her mouth, before she pulled her clothes back into place. She was crying too hard to thank him, because the men had already told her what they'd planned to do to her, and the situation was still fresh in her mind. She had been assaulted, even if they hadn't yet gotten to the act of raping her. She runs away and Taro sighs. He never noticed that one of the men made a call before passing out." Ichigo says, and everyone starts to feel nervous for Taro, in Ichigo's story. Ichigo flips the page.

"As Taro was exiting the alley, with bodies crumpled to the ground behind him, about twelve new men were running towards him, wearing similar clothing to the guys he had just left injured and bruised. Taro realized that he was in a load of trouble, but he didn't realize that someone else saw the people running at him, and had seen the girl running away crying as though she'd just been attacked. The group quickly pull out concealed weapons as they close in on Taro, and a new scuffle ensues." Ichigo says, and everyone in the class begins to wonder if Taro will be killed off in Ichigo's story.

"Taro screams that the men shouldn't have been attempting to rape a little girl, and because he yells that line, the silent observer sweeps in, to help him. Taro can't even do anything, once _she_ appears. He has never seen anything like it, with precise and agile movements, she proceeds to start kicking the asses of his attackers. Taro and his attackers all seem to have the same problem…they're too stunned to react properly, not to mention her quickness was enough to make their heads spin. Within a minute, the rest of the men are laying on the ground around him. She offers him her hand, and he accepts it. She pulls him up to his feet, and he's stunned when he realizes that she is an incredibly petite woman. How in the hell does she have so much power?" Ichigo says, and Rukia begins to blush. She has a feeling that this mysterious character is based on herself.

"He stares into her deep blue eyes, and he stammers out a thank you, before he just stares at her, with a million questions filling up his brain, even though he's unable to ask even one of them out loud to her as they look into each other's eyes. She finally smiles at him and offers her name without being asked, which had definitely been one of the questions, running through his brain. She said her name was Usagi, and that it meant bunny." Ichigo says, and he feels his face heat up, so he keeps his face down on the paper.

"He finally manages to ask her how old she is, and he's shocked when she says nineteen. She's much older than him, even though she could easily pass for being younger than him, in terms of her teenage appearance." Ichigo says, as a picture of Rukia flashes through his mind. He won't look at her right now…he can't.

"She quickly explained that she'd only moved into town a couple of weeks earlier, and that she hopes they can be friends, since she can respect a guy who saves a child from being raped." Ichigo says, and he finally feels his face lose that hot feeling.

"He fooled himself…convinced himself that it was just an admiration for her strength, and of course that he most likely owed her, since she saved his ass from the gang. She was an intriguing girl, and unlike any of the silly girls that he was in class with. He learns where she lives, and he runs into her quite often on his way home from school. He tries to keep as distant as possible, but she draws him into her life. First it was to come in to her apartment to kill a spider. He smiled at her and told her that he owed her, so he guessed he'd take care of it." Ichigo says, and a couple of girls squirm at the mention of a spider. Ichigo turns the page.

"Another time, she was on her way to the store, and realized she could use an extra pair of hands. She asked Taro, since she saw him on his way home from school, and right when he was about to agree to help her, she offered to cook him dinner if he did. Taro felt his cheeks grow warm, but he doesn't really understand why. He helps her carry her groceries, and he lets her cook for him. He had believed she was a young woman with no real problems, but while he was with her, and she was cooking, the phone rang. Taro tried not to listen, but she grew so loud that it was impossible for him not to." Ichigo says, and he takes another deep breath. His story didn't feel this long when he read it silently…

"This phone call served as the sole reason that Taro learned that Usagi had an abusive ex-boyfriend, who was even more talented in martial arts than she was, which Taro found difficult to believe. He learned it because she shouted into the phone that she wouldn't go back to an abusive guy like him, and that no man can hit her regardless of their status in her life. She had hung up and Taro stayed in the next room, on the couch motionless, wondering if he should go into the kitchen and check on her." Ichigo says, and the tension in the room seems to rise. Rukia begins to wonder if Usagi is based on her anymore, though she has a feeling that the character is.

"Since the idea of comforting someone was new to him, he chose to stay put, but in the kitchen, Usagi has tears rolling down her face as she stares at the food she's preparing on the stove. She really didn't expect the teenager to do anything anyways, but she wishes that Raidon hadn't called while she had the kid over. He was an inexperienced, but good kid, and she was enjoying being his friend, even if he was a few years too young for her." Ichigo says, and everyone in the class begins to think that perhaps Taro's personality is the only part of the story based on himself.

"When he ate her cooking, he realized she was talented in the kitchen. Her food reminded him of his mother's food. They ate quietly, since Taro didn't want to bombard her with nosy questions, and she didn't really know what to say in order to explain why she'd acted the way that she did." Ichigo says, and he turns the page.

"Things stayed like this for a long time, until several months later. On this day that Taro passed by her house, and heard her scream. He didn't even think twice about it, he charged in, and found a large man, with a knife. He's slashed Usagi across her cheek, and she's holding her face while crying. Her clothes are torn, though it looks like she's been fairly successful in fighting off her attacker. Taro shouts at the man, and asks him who in the hell he is, and the man turns on him, brandishing his knife." Ichigo says, and everyone begins to worry for Taro again.

"The man shouts that he is Usagi's boyfriend, and that nobody should be barging in and getting in their business. Taro drops his school bag to the floor, and coldly comments that if he's her boyfriend, he shouldn't be cutting her. Usagi's eyes widen in fear for Taro, as her ex charges at the kid, who has turned sixteen over the summer, and ever since the day he had been saved by her, he'd gotten more serious about his own martial arts training, without ever telling her that fact." Ichigo says, and everyone begins to smile.

"Unfortunately for Taro, his opponent was still more powerful and talented than he in the martial arts, and he also had a knife at his disposal. Taro ends up getting slashed quite critically, even though he doesn't go down. When it looks like her ex is about to plunge the knife right into his heart, Usagi springs up and yanks his arm back. He's surprised that she actually dared to get in the way and he prepares to hit her harder than he ever has before in his life, but she jams her elbow into his temple and then his nose. Her ex drops his knife, and Taro jumps in to help her, since her ex still isn't unconscious, instead he looks like he's prepared to explode on them both." Ichigo says, and everyone wonders where it's going.

"The man begins to accuse Taro of being in love with Usagi, and he wonders if this kid has ever known Usagi the way that he has. Both Usagi and Taro deny any such relationship, but her ex has gone mad with anger. He tells Taro that he's going to have sex with Usagi right now, and so if Taro doesn't want to watch a woman receive real pleasure, he should get the hell out of the house. Taro stands his ground, and her ex reaches out to punch Usagi again. Taro darts in, but her ex was expecting it. He decks Taro so hard that the kid crumples to the floor, momentarily dazed. He turns his back on the kid and begins to stalk Usagi again. She is terrified more for Taro than for herself. She wonders if Raidon is capable of murdering the kid. She doesn't notice Taro struggling to get back up, struggling to help her, since she's trying to push Raidon off of her, while he's sucking on her neck. He tells her in a harsh voice that he'll mark her here and now." Ichigo says, and a few of the girls in the class begin to squirm at how explicit Ichigo's story is getting. He turns the page.

"Taro stumbles to his feet, shakes his head to clear the dizzy feeling and rushes at Raidon. He shoves him off of Usagi, who quickly gets back up and pulls her shirt into place, since Raidon snapped a few of her buttons attempting to get it off, while he was on top of her. Taro traps the larger man when he begins to choke him. The man starts to try and punch him, but Taro moves his head to avoid the hits and continues to apply pressure to the man's throat. When the man passes out, Usagi calls the police, and Taro stays with her and they both shake a bit while they wait for help to arrive. Taro leaves at the same time the police do, and he heads home." Ichigo says, and everyone breathes a sigh of relief that the girl didn't get raped.

"Taro and Usagi slowly strengthen their friendship, and on the day that her ex is to be released from jail, a couple of years after his scuffle with the man, Taro goes over to hang out at her house. He asks her if she thinks Raidon will come back, and Usagi doesn't like that question. It's taken Taro a long time, but he realizes that he wants to be with her, and watch out for her. He points out that he's become much stronger than he was, back when he fought her ex, and she smiles at him when he tells her that. Then Taro finally finds the courage to ask her an important question. He asks her how she'd like to have a boyfriend that would rather die than to ever abuse her, and Usagi smiles beautifully at him." Ichigo says, and the girls in the class all begin to think that maybe Kurosaki is more romantic than he's ever let on.

"Usagi blushes when she asks him if he's talking about himself, and he blushes when she asks that. He tells her that he wouldn't be talking about anybody else, and when he says that, she surprises him by kissing him. She finally pulls away and tells him that she's been waiting for the day when he would ask her to be with him, once he was a legal adult." Ichigo says, and from her seat, Rukia smiles wickedly. She hopes Ichigo doesn't think she cares about these sorts of things.

"She taught him everything. She brought happiness back into his life, and for the first time, he felt truly close to someone. Taro didn't ever intend to lose Usagi, and he proposed within a year of when they started dating. It didn't matter that she was older, and it didn't matter that he had never loved anyone before her. They fit so perfectly with one another that to not be together would only be a crime, and so they were married, right after he turned twenty years old. He swore to love her for as long as he existed, and he never broke that promise." Ichigo finishes, and everyone in the classroom claps, even Rukia.

Ichigo goes back to his seat, and catches Rukia's eye. She quickly looks away since the unthinkable has happened…he beat her.

Ichigo is practically shaking in his seat.

_I actually won…now I have to tell her what I want! _

Ichigo begins to turn red, and so he looks straight down at his desk and attempts to calm down. When he finally does, he pulls a piece of paper out of his bag, and he begins to write his winning request out to Rukia.

_That Night…_

"When are you going to finally tell me what I have to give you?" Rukia asks nervously, since she has no idea what Ichigo would want from her.

"I'm going to go take a shower…what I want is written down here…." Ichigo grabs a towel and tosses a folded up piece of paper at her, before dashing out of his room.

Rukia unfolds it and begins to read. Her face turns bright red, but when she reads the ending, she smiles a bit. He tells her he'll understand if she says no, and that he'll think of something else, if she isn't okay with it, since he wants her to want to do what he's asking of her.

Rukia remembers that she told him she wouldn't agree to the bet if she didn't mind doing whatever he wanted, granted she didn't know he'd want _this_, but she's not against giving it to him. It makes her feel excited to know that he'd write this kind of detailed letter describing what he wanted, and even funnier was the note at the bottom ordering her to destroy it, once she'd finished reading it.

"Yeah…you wouldn't want your father to get his hands on this one," Rukia mutters before she uses kidou to destroy the note like he'd ordered her to do. She begins to get nervous, waiting for him to come back, since what he wanted was supposed to start, right when he came back into the room. Rukia turns off the overhead light, and turns on the desk lamp instead, to help create a better mood.

She sits on his bed, and waits nervously, for him to appear. He takes a longer shower than usual, probably because he's nervous at her reaction.

When he finally walks into his room, he blushes when Rukia stands and walks over to him. She yanks his towel off of him, as his letter dictated she should, and she drops to her knees. Ichigo gasps when she slips her mouth onto his dick and begins to suck him like there's no tomorrow.

"Holy shit…Rukia!" Ichigo murmurs as he slides his hands into her hair, and moans again as she continues to do just what his letter asked.

She slides her hands up the back of his legs and grabs onto his rear end with her hands. After rubbing his ass and sucking him for a few minutes, she stands and leads him over to the bed, where she peels off her underwear, though she leaves her skirt on, and climbs back on top of him to continue doing what she'd been doing before.

Except that now, she's in such a position that he grabs her ass and pulls her downward, to return the favor. Rukia moans against his dick at the first feel of his tongue against her moist folds. It soon becomes way too intense for her to handle, and she bounces off of him. He gives her a look that she's never seen on him before.

"Don't run away…" Ichigo says, as he holds his arms back out. Rukia blushes and falls into his arms. He holds her close, and kisses her against her hair.

"Was that what you wanted?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo surprises her by rolling to the side.

"Yeah…do you want to do more?" Ichigo asks, with a blush filling his face. Rukia blushes too, since she knows what he's asking her. She doesn't answer right away, and Ichigo begins to unbutton her white blouse.

"We're not a true couple…" Rukia whispers, as he pulls her shirt open, and Ichigo looks hurt by her words.

"We've been a couple for the longest time. I didn't just recently fall for you, I fell for you a long time ago. We've just never been intimate…until tonight." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia frowns a bit at that.

"When did you fall for me Ichigo?" Rukia asks softly, and he pulls his hands away, leaving her shirt open, with her bra exposed.

"I started to fall for you from the very beginning without even realizing it. When Renji and Byakuya took you away, I realized I had to save you, to see your smile. It took me a long time to actually realize I was in love, but when I did, I knew it started happening in the beginning. I never was interested in any girls besides you. Don't tell me you never noticed." Ichigo says, and Rukia smiles, before she leans in to give him a quick kiss.

"So you're saying that you're committed to me?" Rukia asks softly, and Ichigo nods his head solemnly.

"I'll always be." Ichigo say quietly, and Rukia smiles at him again.

"If you're committed, then I think I don't want to stop, because I…." Rukia blushes, and points down between her legs. "…am wet." Rukia says in a completely embarrassed voice, and Ichigo didn't think she could have said something that could make him want to ravish her so completely, but that comment did it.

He rolls her onto her back and finishes unbuttoning her blouse, and then he smiles when he sees that her bra snaps in the front. He hadn't noticed that when they were talking. He figures that she chose that kind of bra because it was easiest for her, but it was easier for him as well. He quickly gets it unsnapped, and for the first time ever, Rukia's breasts spill out into his view.

He knew she wasn't as large as other girls, but he had never imagined that breasts could be as perfect as hers are, to his eyes. He thinks that they're shaped beautifully, and well proportioned to her body. The color of her nipples are a light pink, which makes him immediately fall in love with the sight of them. They're not overly large nipples, nor are they completely small. They fit the size and shape of her breasts perfectly, and he can't help but to run his finger over the hardened tips and then lean in to kiss and lick them.

Rukia lets out a low moan when he does that, and then she gasps as his hand runs downward, to where she already told him it was wet. He gently enters her with his index finger, and he worries when he feels her insides tight on just his finger, since what he has below is substantially longer and thicker than his index finger.

"What are you doing?" Rukia asks nervously, since she's feeling something completely different from what she's ever felt before.

Ichigo moves his thumb, of that same finger, over her clit and he begins to lick at her nipple again, to keep her from freaking out. He withdraws his finger and then he reenters her with two fingers instead of one.

He can feel his fingers push up against the barrier proving her virginity, and he feels a strong emotion flood his body, that he is to be the one she gives it to. It makes him happy, that he's giving her his in return.

Rukia flinches when he does that, and Ichigo feels that she's stretched to accept his fingers, but it's obviously a bit awkward and uncomfortable for her.

He pulls his mouth away from her hard nipple and he looks up into her glistening eyes.

"Does this hurt, Rukia?" Ichigo whispers gently, and Rukia doesn't know how to answer.

"Not exactly…" Rukia mutters, but Ichigo can tell that he's unnerved her.

"I am trying to prepare you," Ichigo groans, as he repositions himself over her, and uses his throbbing erection to run across her folds and clit instead of his hands.

Rukia starts to shake at the contact, since the top of his erection is far smoother than his fingers, and it doesn't feel bad in any way.

"Eeeee! Ichigo!" Rukia's voice is quiet, but very high pitched, and Ichigo's lips curve up just a tiny bit as he looks down at her, with her eyes squeezed shut, and her fists clenched.

"You're so beautiful…" Ichigo murmurs as he slides the head of his arousal to prepare to enter her. He takes it very slowly, and she slowly stretches, without feeling any pain as he slides it all the way up until he's stopped by her virginity.

"Ichigo?" Rukia asks, since she's heard that this hurts, though she doesn't know why.

"Hold on, I'll make it as quick as I can." Ichigo mutters against her ear, and he closes his eyes before he gives one powerful push.

He slides completely into her, even as she involuntarily tightens up from the powerful burst of pain that his penetration caused. She lets out a shriek, and Ichigo wonders if he's going to pass out from the pleasure of it all. That would be so embarrassing. He stays deep inside of her and wonders how it's possible that she just made him feel pleasure beyond anything he's ever known before.

"That was different…" Rukia mutters, wondering why Ichigo's penetration hurt her worse than being ran through by a spear…

"I'm sorry…" Ichigo says, and his voice cracks.

There's no way he can tell her about the ultimate pleasure that he's feeling, just being inside of her. Her insides are throbbing from the injury caused inside, and he feels every pulse quite clearly all around him. In fact, it feels like he's ready to explode right now.

Rukia catches her breath, and marvels at how the pain is quickly going away, though the initial pain hurt like a son of a bitch.

"It's starting to go away…" Rukia whispers, and Ichigo leans in to kiss her.

Rukia puts her arms around him and kisses him back, and he slowly begins to withdraw. Rukia sucks in her breath at the same time Ichigo does, but for different reasons. For her, it's still pretty uncomfortable, but for him, it's insanely wondrous. He erupts as he pushes back in the second time, and Rukia's nails dig into his back as he convulses on top of her.

"Ichigo…are you okay?" Rukia asks, forgetting her own pain.

Ichigo takes a long shaky breath. He feels lightheaded, and all of a sudden his dick feels even more sensitive than it did before, and he groans and squeezes his eyes shut as he pulls out of her and rolls to the side where he collapses.

"Holy shit…" Ichigo says, as he throws an arm over his eyes.

_How is that kind of pleasure even real and attainable? She's better than I ever imagined, in my wildest dreams!_

"You weren't happy were you?" Rukia mutters, and Ichigo moves his arm to gape at her.

"Are you serious? I've never felt so good in my life!" Ichigo assures her, and Rukia begins to smile.

"Really?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo nods his head.

"I never knew it could be like that…you're the first." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia nods at him.

"You're mine too." Rukia tells him, and he grins at her.

"I already knew that." Ichigo says, and Rukia glares at him.

"How?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo wonders just how much about sex has actually been explained to her. She hadn't acted that shocked, but he thought all girls knew about their own proof of virginity.

"Because it hurt you." Ichigo answers simply, not wanting to give her an educational lesson after having just made love to her. He'll take her to the library and get her a book, tomorrow.

"I see," Rukia says, even though she doesn't really get it at all.

"Rukia, what would you have asked for, if you won?" Ichigo asks, preparing to give her whatever it was she wanted anyways.

"I was going to ask you to share your feelings about me, with me." Rukia says with a blush, and Ichigo smiles as he pulls her in for a long kiss.

"I love you, probably as much as is humanly possible." Ichigo tells her in a serious voice, and Rukia blushes.

"I love you too." Rukia says.

_The Next Morning…_

Ichigo really should have explained it last night. He realizes that when he's in the shower, and Rukia is downstairs chatting with Karin.

Yuzu starts to scream from Ichigo's bedroom, and Isshin dashes upstairs into Ichigo's room, at the bed where Yuzu is standing.

"What is it, Yuzu?!" Isshin asks, and Yuzu points at the sheets on her brother's bed.

"There's blood!" Yuzu yells, and Isshin slowly begins to smile.

"Well, that can only mean one of two things! Either Rukia-chan is on her period, or she lost her virginity to Ichigo last night! Either way she was in Ichigo's bed! Have you seen any lady products in the waste can?" Isshin asks, and Yuzu shakes her head no.

"I don't think she's on her period, she was on that about two weeks ago." Yuzu says, and Isshin starts to smile like a fool.

"Come on, Yuzu, lets go get a banner made to celebrate Ichigo losing his virginity, we'll throw them a party tonight!" Isshin yells, as he pulls his daughter out of the room.

Ichigo finally makes his way back into his room, and his eyes widen at the bloodstain on his bed. He hadn't noticed that last night.

"Shit! Did Yuzu scream because she saw this?! Now they'll know Rukia was in my bed!" Ichigo moans, and he runs downstairs.

"Ichigo!" Rukia says, with a glowing smile.

"Where's Yuzu?!" Ichigo asks, and Rukia points outside.

"She and your dad just left." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo closes his eyes. He doesn't have a good feeling about this.

_That Night…_

The banner reads...

_Congratulations on Losing Your Virginity!!_

Rukia and Ichigo about die as they come back home after spending a few hours at the library.

"I'm kicking your ass!" Ichigo shouts as he charges towards his father.

"But-but-but I got you a cake!" Isshin says, as he points at a cake with a naked man and lady iced on top. Ichigo punches his dad again…just for the cake.

"You asshole!" Ichigo roars, but Rukia goes over to the cake and looks at it with interest.

"How nice, does everyone get a party when they lose their virginity, Ichigo?" Rukia asks, as she eyeballs the cake. She wonders how Isshin could purchase such a cake with two young daughters in the house.

"No! Normal people do not get parties! Normal people usually keep that sort of thing a secret!" Ichigo growls at her, and Rukia glances up wide eyed.

"You mean…you didn't tell him?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo turns bright red.

"No!" Ichigo roars, and Rukia blushes.

"Then how did he know?" Rukia asks, and Isshin turns his head as he scoots out of Ichigo's reach.

"The blood was a dead giveaway." Isshin says, and Rukia blushes again.

"I'll kill you!" Ichigo shouts as he runs after his father. Rukia looks back at the cake.

"Is it wrong that I want to eat this?" Rukia asks the girls, who just stare on wide eyed, unable to answer.

Rukia finally just pulls out a knife, and she hears as Ichigo captures Isshin in the next room and hits him many, many times. She cuts a piece of the cake, and grabs a spoon to eat it with.

Rukia's eyes light up at the rich taste of the wondrous cake. Ichigo and his father are still fighting, and she shakes her head.

_I think I like that a party was thrown for the occasion. For some reason, I don't feel like I lost the competition. _

**A/N- I got the meaning of Usagi's name from Haruka-Clone who said my original translation was incorrect.**


	36. As Requested: Feminine Issues

**A/N-I had a request to do a one shot on Rukia getting her period and giving Ichigo hell as a result of it. It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Feminine Issues_

Rukia feels very irritated. It hasn't yet dawned on her that she is having PMS issues, but it seems like Ichigo is angering her more easily than usual.

It had started this morning, when he found the sketchbook in her school bag, and then he began to yap about how she can't draw for shit. She had whipped the sketchpad out of his hands and had beat him over the head with it several times while she'd yelled for him to shut the hell up about her drawings for once.

She'd walked away, leaving him in a dazed heap on the floor.

She'd stomped off to her room, to lay down, since she felt oddly tired, in the middle of the day, and when she woke up to a hollow alert, she and Ichigo had gone to slay it.

She of course, hadn't forgotten how he'd made fun of her sketchbook, and so she hadn't spoken to him on the way to kill the hollow.

Rukia had been about to kill the hollow, when Ichigo flew in and killed it just before she swung her blade, and for some reason, it aggravated her to no end.

"Why did you get in my way?" Rukia had shouted as the hollow disappeared, and Ichigo's eyes had widened.

"What are you talking about? We've killed hollows that way dozens of times!" Ichigo had protested, and Rukia had given him the evil eye as she slid her zanpakutou in its sheath.

"Forget it." Rukia had hissed, before turning and walking away from him. Ichigo had caught up to her quickly.

"What's your problem today?" Ichigo had asked, earning him a punch in the gut.

"I don't have a problem." Rukia had growled at him, and Ichigo just nodded his head, even though he's obviously disagreed.

"Okay…" Ichigo had said, and he couldn't figure out why she'd been on such a short fuse today.

Rukia lays in her bed and frowns. Even _she_ can't figure out why he pissed her off so much today.

_The Next Day…_

Rukia can't even get out of bed. She lets out a loud moan.

"It feels like my abdomen is being twisted and rung out…" Rukia groans, and Yuzu looks at her with concern.

"Are you okay, Rukia-chan?" Yuzu asks, and Rukia just lets out a low moan of pain.

"It hurts…" Rukia mutters, and she finally understands why she was so irritated yesterday.

She only has these kinds of cramps twice a year. She also realizes that she doesn't have any feminine products with her in the living world.

"Rukia-chan…" Yuzu says worriedly, and Rukia groans again.

"This had to happen now, didn't it?" Rukia asks, and Karin sits up sleepily in bed.

"What's going on?" Karin asks, as Rukia lets out another pained moan.

"Something is wrong with Rukia-chan! Should we go and get Daddy?" Yuzu asks, and Karin just stares at the look of pain on Rukia's face.

"We should probably go and tell Ichi-ni, first. He can go and get Dad if there really is a need to." Karin says grumpily, as she hops quickly out of bed.

Yuzu follows Karin over to their brother's room, where they knock. When they get no answer, they push the door open and rush over to their sleeping brother's side.

"Ichi-ni, wake up!" Karin orders him. Ichigo rolls over, to have his back to them, and he snores loudly. He heard her, he just doesn't want to be bothered.

"Something is wrong with Rukia-chan!" Yuzu says in a shrill voice, and Ichigo jumps out of bed so fast, his sisters both flinch at the quickness of his movements.

"What's wrong with Rukia?!" Ichigo asks loudly, completely wide awake now. His heart is pounding so fast, and he's completely worried.

"Come see." Karin says, as she gives him a strange look.

The siblings all hurry to the Karin & Yuzu's bedroom, and to Rukia's bedside. Rukia's eyes are closed, but her face shows that she's in pain. She lets out a low moan, and Ichigo's mouth falls open. He's never seen Rukia like this…not when she wasn't severely wounded in battle.

"Rukia, what's wrong?" Ichigo asks worriedly. Rukia opens her eyes and grimaces.

"Oh it hurts!" Rukia moans, and Ichigo doesn't know what to do, to make her feel better…then he sees the clock.

"Holy shit it's early!" Ichigo says, and Yuzu smiles at him.

"I always get up this early." Yuzu says, and Karin scowls.

"I don't…but I can't sleep with her moaning like that." Karin mutters, and Rukia lets out another loud moan.

"Karin, go back to bed. I'll carry Rukia to my room, so you can get some sleep, and keep an eye on her." Ichigo says in a firm voice. Karin nods her head.

"Okay." Karin says, as she climbs back into her own bed.

He leans over to pick up Rukia, and she begins moan, just before his hands can touch her, which makes him pause.

"Rukia…" Ichigo mutters, and she opens her eyes, and blushes, when she realizes she's going to have to tell him what her problem is.

Ichigo scoops her up into his arms, and hurries out of the room, and over to his own room with her. He lays her in his bed, and stares down at her.

"Do I need to get Inoue?" Ichigo asks her, and Rukia shakes her head no.

"Even Inoue can't reject this." Rukia groans as she clutches at her stomach and curls herself up into a ball, to moan again. "Just let me die in peace." Rukia mutters, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"Rukia! You're not allowed to die! What in the hell is wrong with you?!" Ichigo asks, getting more and more frantic with each passing moment.

"My whole body aches…my stomach feels like there's a person on the inside, wringing it out like a wet rag, and it hurts like a bitch!" Rukia mutters quietly as she holds back another groan.

"Is this some sort of Shinigami sickness?" Ichigo asks in confusion. "Should I call Urahara?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia glares up at him, forgetting her pain for a moment, in her irritation with him.

"It's not a Shinigami sickness you idiot! It's a female thing!" Rukia says, and Ichigo immediately turns bright red, and Rukia clutches at her abdomen, since all she can feel is the sharp pain becoming even worse.

She squeezes her eyes shut, and lets out a long pained breath of air.

He had been about to tell her that he didn't believe that women actually had such problems, and that he thought it was just a convenient excuse, but the look of pain on her face, stops him from saying so. He can't stand to see her so miserable.

"Can I help you somehow?" Ichigo finally asks, after a long moment of silence.

"I need lady products." Rukia mutters quietly, and Ichigo gets even redder.

"You want _me_ to go buy you lady products?" Ichigo asks in a raised voice, even as he imagines himself being stared at in horror by the clerk at the store.

"It's not like they'll think that they're for you!" Rukia growls at him, and Ichigo can't stop blushing.

Rukia barely notices his condition though, because this is one of the worst cases of PMS that she has ever experienced. She wonders if it's because she's been spending so much time in the living world.

_To go and buy lady products…isn't that the type of thing that only a boyfriend or husband would do? _

"Fine." Ichigo mutters. "I'll leave as soon as the corner store opens." Ichigo says, not wanting to admit he's too immature and embarrassed to help her out when she's feeling so shitty.

Rukia keeps her body curled in a circle as she wraps her arms around her legs, instead of clutching her stomach, and she starts to rock back and forth, trying hard not to groan and moan in pain.

"Ichigo…for now, just go get me some toilet paper…" Rukia asks him, and Ichigo rushes out of the room to do her bidding.

Rukia doesn't know if she actually needs it yet, but judging by her cramps, she knows she'll need to protect herself soon. She squeezes her eyes shut, from the piercing pain.

Ichigo hurries back into the room, with a large wad of toilet paper, which he holds out to Rukia.

"Here!" Ichigo says, and she takes it from him, before she stuffs it down her pajama bottoms and underwear. Once she accomplishes that, it's one less worry.

"I can't even move…" Rukia is nearly whining, which is very new for Ichigo.

He had no idea that female pains could be this bad, but Rukia's not the type to whine and cry just because of a little bit of pain. He no longer believes feminine problems to be just an excuse, after seeing her like this.

"Tell me what to do to help you!" Ichigo says, in a frustrated voice. "I can't stand to see you like this, Rukia!" Ichigo says, and Rukia takes a few deep breaths.

"Something warm to drink might be nice…how long until you can go to the store?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo shakes his head.

"It will be awhile. I'll go get you something warm to drink." Ichigo says, and the moment he's gone, Rukia doesn't hold back anymore. She lets out a loud groan of pain into her knees as the cramps tighten back up.

_It seems like each cramp is worse than the last._

Rukia keeps rocking back and forth as she moans, and she truly feels shitty as she lays there. Ichigo arrives back, a few minutes later with a cup of hot tea, and he sets it on the nightstand.

"Ichigo…" Rukia says, but then she stops, and winces in pain.

"What is it, Rukia?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia grimaces again, and thinks maybe what she wants to ask for, is out of line.

"Never mind." Rukia says, and Ichigo clenches his fist.

"Just tell me Rukia. I want to help you." Ichigo says in a desperate voice, and Rukia can't hold back a small moan of pain.

"Can you…rub my back?" Rukia asks pitifully. "Please?" Rukia asks softly.

"Yeah." Ichigo says, and he sits on the bed with her as she flips over to face the window. She stays curled up, and Ichigo blushes as he goes to reach out to rub her back.

_Why does my body have to react to this?_

Ichigo begins to rub her back, and her tee-shirt begins to ride up a bit. Ichigo takes a big chance, and simply pulls her shirt up further, to rub her bare back.

Rukia lets out a long moan of relief, when he concentrates on her lower back.

"Right there Ichigo, that's perfect." Rukia encourages him, and he blushes harder, because his hand is _so close_ to her cute little butt.

_Ahhh! What am I thinking!? I shouldn't think those kinds of things about Rukia! At least…not now!_

"Is that good?" Ichigo asks after a minute, and Rukia lets out another moan of relief.

"Lower." Rukia says quietly, and Ichigo's eyes widen…he can't go much lower before he _is_ rubbing her cute butt!

"Really?!" Ichigo asks in a squeak.

"Lower!" Rukia says more forcefully, and so he moves his hands a bit lower, careful not to stray so low that she flips over and decks him. She lets out a long sigh as he rubs her at the very lowest part of her back.

"Better?" Ichigo asks, since he's at noon on the sundial, after rubbing her like this.

Rukia wishes he would rub her butt. It would probably feel nice right now, but she doesn't know how to tell him, without having a big huge uncomfortable conversation about it, so she simply says one thing to him, to see if he'll listen.

"Lower." Rukia says in a firm voice. Ichigo can see that her cheeks are red, and so he knows that she knows what she's asking him to do.

"If it will help…" Ichigo mutters, and then he begins to rub her butt.

"Oh my god that feels so good." Rukia breathes out.

Ichigo is flaming red…and in complete agreement. Rukia's rump feels perfect against his hands, and he wonders if he'll ever get the chance to do this again. He decides he ought to enjoy it while he has the opportunity to, and he decides he won't stop until she tells him to. He glances back down at his crotch, and hopes she doesn't turn around and spot what has happened with him.

"If it helps…" Ichigo says, but he doesn't say anymore.

"It is helping…thanks, Ichigo." Rukia says, and her voice actually sounds contented.

"Just tell me if you want me to stop," Ichigo says, and Rukia finds her first real smile since she woke up feeling like hell.

"I'll let you know." Rukia tells him.

Ichigo is nearly driven completely out of his mind, before Rukia finally allows him to stop giving her a butt rub, not that he would even think about complaining about that.

"If I shower and get dressed, by the time I get to the corner, the store will probably be open." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia nods.

Ichigo hurries out of the room, before she can notice his pants are tenting.

_While Ichigo's Out…_

Ichigo turns bright red, when he realizes he picked up the only feminine products without a price listed on them. When the lady holds them up high in the air, he's surrounded by a ton of old people wanting to buy the morning paper.

"Price check on Sunshine and Flowers Maxi Pads!" The cashier calls out loudly, causing Ichigo to go bright red.

"Which size?" Another worker yells out, as Ichigo claps his hand over his face.

"Petite!" The cashier calls back.

"How many in a pack?" The worker yells again.

"Twenty!" The cashier calls back. Ichigo wishes he could fall through the floor, at this point.

"Five hundred yen!" The worker calls back. Ichigo pays very quickly, and hurries out of the store, still bright red.

He hurries home, and gives Rukia the pads. She holds her stomach as she leaves the room, and Ichigo cannot take any more of this. He heads downstairs to grab the phone and call Urahara's shop.

When he gets a hold of Urahara, he immediately asks if Yoruichi is around. Urahara seems a bit taken aback, but he answers hesitantly.

"Yes, Yoruichi-san is here, just one moment." Urahara says, even as his voice sounds surprised. Ichigo has _never_ called for Yoruichi-san before.

Ichigo waits impatiently for Yoruichi to get to the phone.

"Hello, Ichigo?" Yoruichi says, and Ichigo breathes a big sigh of relief.

"Yoruichi-san! I need your help!" Ichigo says, and Yoruichi smiles on the other end.

"What's the problem?" Yoruichi asks, and Ichigo starts blushing before he begins his answer.

"It's Rukia…she…uh…is having female cramps. Do you have any advice on how I can help her?" Ichigo asks, and Yoruichi laughs, which makes Ichigo glare at the receiver.

"You two are finally dating?" Yoruichi asks, and Ichigo blushes harder.

"No…she's just in a lot of pain." Ichigo mutters, and Yoruichi laughs again.

"Okay, okay. I remember how bad it was when I first started living here rather than Soul Society. You should try rubbing her back." Yoruichi says with a bit of a smile. Ichigo blushes again.

"I already did that, it helped while I was doing it, but when I stopped, she started acting like she was in a lot of pain again." Ichigo admits, and Yoruichi's eyes widen that Ichigo actually rubbed Rukia's back.

"You should also try rubbing her stomach and rear end, that always helps." Yoruichi says, and Ichigo doesn't dare to admit he already rubbed Rukia's ass.

"Um, okay…anything else?" Ichigo asks, and Yoruichi grins.

"Try elevating her legs with pillows, and stay near her. Women are a bit more emotional at that time." Yoruichi advises.

"Anything else?" Ichigo asks, and Yoruichi pauses before answering.

"Kisuke has medicine for it too, you'll have to pay for it, if I bring it over to you." Yoruichi says, and Ichigo sighs in relief.

"How much?" Ichigo asks.

"Twenty thousand yen." Yoruichi says, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"I can't afford that." Ichigo mumbles, and Ichigo hears her say something to Urahara.

"Kisuke says he'll let you have eight pills, enough for four doses, for one thousand yen." Yoruichi tells him next, and Ichigo gulps.

"Fine, but if it doesn't work, I'll want a refund." Ichigo growls into the phone, and Yoruichi laughs.

"I'll be over in about an hour." She tells him.

"Why so long?" Ichigo mutters, and Yoruichi decides to tell him.

"Kisuke and I were just about to have sex when you called. He's still hard as a rock, and I'm creaming up so bad that if I don't have sex now, I'll just end up raping you when I come over." Yoruichi says, and Ichigo shudders.

"Fine…see you in an hour." Ichigo mumbles, before he heads back upstairs.

He goes to grab pillows from Yuzu's and Rukia's bed, before heading out. Just before he gets to his room, he hears Rukia let out a muffled shriek of pain, and he realizes that she holds back, when he's in the room.

He opens the door, and Rukia gasps for air.

"Ichigo…this is the worst I've ever felt it. I feel like my insides are being ripped apart!" Rukia groans, and Ichigo's expression softens.

"Do you want me to rub you some more?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia nods her head yes, and turns to face the window again.

Ichigo rolls her onto her back. He puts the extra pillows under her legs, to elevate them as directed, and then he sits next to her. He bites his lip, and decides to ask before just acting.

"Do you want me to rub your stomach?" Ichigo asks, with a blush. She blushes back, but nods her head.

"Yes, I think that might help." Rukia says, and she closes her eyes, as he pushes her tee-shit upwards.

Taking care of himself in the shower earlier, doesn't seem to matter much now, because he is once again severely turned on, as he touches Rukia's skin, rubbing it, to try and make her feel better. He's so tempted to lean over and kiss her belly, but he doesn't want to get kneed in the face, so he refrains from doing anything like that.

Ichigo doesn't even know how time flies by so fast that he's actually annoyed when Yoruichi shows up at the house, ten minutes sooner than he'd anticipated her to.

"Ah, Ichigo. You're lucky, I finished early with Kisuke, to help you out. It was easier than I anticipated. I just imagined you were there in the room with us, and I came like a waterfall." Yoruichi tells him, and Ichigo hurries to hand over the payment, since he's practically purple in the face.

"Alright. Thanks, Yoruichi-san." Ichigo says, and he quickly closes the door as he leans against it. He thinks about Yoruichi-san and Rangiku-san for a brief second.

_Why is it always the wrong women hitting on me?_

Ichigo runs up the stairs with the medicine, and when Rukia sees it, her eyes practically water over, in gratitude.

"Thank you, Ichigo!" Rukia says, and she hurries to take it.

Within ten seconds, she's smiling as though she were never in pain. Ichigo's eyes widen as he sets the rest of the medication left on the nightstand.

"Holy shit that was fast." Ichigo says in wonder.

"How did you get your hands on that?" Rukia asks, since she just wants to kiss him.

"I called Yoruichi-san and asked if she knew a way to help you." Ichigo admits, not meeting her eyes, and his face is pink.

"Thanks Ichigo! I love you!" Rukia says with a happy laugh, and she pulls his head down to kiss him.

Ichigo freezes for a second, but then he wraps his arms around her, and kisses her back. He can hardly believe she just said she loves him…Rukia doesn't throw around words like that. When they finally pull away, Ichigo sees a beautiful blush on her face, and he knows he must be the same way.

"I love you, too. Anytime you're in pain, I'll try to help you." Ichigo admits, and Rukia beams at him.

"You're a life saver, Ichigo." Rukia says, as she steps forward to hug him. He returns the hug and breathes in the scent of her hair.

_I'll always be here for you, whether it's feminine issues, or any other problem, Rukia._

They stay like that for several minutes, before pulling away blushing.

"I only kiss you because you're my boyfriend." Rukia informs him, and Ichigo's eyes widen as he nods his head.

He steps back in, to kiss his girlfriend.

_Later That Night…_

When Ichigo and Rukia arrive downstairs for dinner, Karin eyes Rukia.

"You're feeling better?" Karin asks, and Rukia blushes.

"Much better, thanks." Rukia says, before she smiles hugely. "Especially now that Ichigo and I are a true couple." Rukia mentions, and Ichigo goes bright red.

"Rukia!" Ichigo hisses, and Isshin smiles hugely.

"Well…it was only a matter of time. I knew this would happen, it's why I welcomed Rukia-chan into the family a long time ago!" Isshin says with a grin.

"You and Ichi-ni are a couple?!" Karin utters in shock. Rukia beams, even though she's pink.

"We'll be married before you're sixteen, don't worry." Rukia says, causing Ichigo to sputter his drink all over his food. He wipes his face up with a napkin to hide his smile.

"That's the way Rukia-chan, tie him down quick, and then give me dozens of grandbabies!" Isshin says, and Ichigo glares at him.

"Shut up." Ichigo growls. He doesn't need to be pressured into having kids before he's finished school.

"Get started as soon as possible, you can always live here for the rest of your lives!" Isshin says with a big grin. Ichigo jumps up out of his chair.

"Like hell!" Ichigo roars, and Isshin laughs.

"I'll be counting on you, Rukia-chan!" Isshin says, and Ichigo wonders whether or not he should punch his father.

Rukia winks at Isshin, since Ichigo isn't looking.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of everything." Rukia assures him, and Ichigo glances from his father to Rukia, and back at his father again, before he simply shakes his head.

"It's a lost cause." Ichigo mutters, and he sits down to eat the rest of his dinner quietly.

"Ah! See! He's accepted his fate! Great job, Rukia-chan!" Isshin says happily.

"It was nothing." Rukia assures him with a beautiful smile. She looks back at Ichigo, who has glanced up at her. He blushes when she catches his eye.

_I love you so much, Ichigo!_


	37. As Requested: Confrontation, Talk, Lemon

_**A/N- I had a request to do this…it's dedicated to the person that requested it! **__**Please enjoy!**_

_Confrontation, Talk, Lemon_

Rukia sighs, as she walks slowly outside of the school building. Ichigo was called back by the teacher, and so Rukia left class without him.

Rukia hopes it's a short talk, so that he can catch up to her, but she can feel that he's still in the classroom, so she begins to pick up her pace. If she beats him home, she can take a quick shower and be changed out of her school uniform before he even makes it back.

As Rukia turns the corner out of the school yard, and onto the sidewalk, she's surprised by Ishida.

"Kuchiki-san!" Ishida says, and Rukia turns around to see Ishida hurrying towards her, as though he'd waited to the left of the school, rather than the right.

To the right is the way she and Ichigo always go, unless a hollow dictates otherwise.

"Ishida?" Rukia says, wondering what he wants.

"Can we sit and talk for a minute?" Ishida asks, as he points at a shady area under a tree.

Rukia figures maybe she and Ichigo will walk home together, since she's been held up too.

"Sure." Rukia says, and she follows him over to the shady area, where they both sit down.

Rukia looks at him expectantly.

"Have you noticed anything about Inoue-san?" Ishida decides to start that way, and Rukia gives him a strange look.

"Like what?" Rukia asks, and Ishida closes his eyes for a second.

"That she's in love with someone?" Ishida presses, and Rukia appears to be thinking for a second.

"No, I can't say that I've noticed her being in love with anyone. Sorry." Rukia says, wondering if Ishida wanted her to say that Inoue was falling for him.

"Well I've noticed. It became pretty obvious to me when we all went to Soul Society. Inoue-san is in love with Kurosaki." Ishida informs Rukia, who automatically shakes her head no.

"No way. Inoue doesn't love him." Rukia says, even as her heart twists at the thought of such a thing.

_Inoue had years to develop something with Ichigo, and she never did, so why would she suddenly be interested in him now?_

"Yes, she does. I know it for a fact. It's hard to miss, when you actually pay attention to her for more than five minutes." Ishida says, and Rukia glares at him.

"Just so you know, I've spent a lot of time with Inoue, and she gave me no reasons to believe she was in love with Ichigo." Rukia insists, and Ishida shakes his head.

"I don't know how you could miss it…I know why Kurosaki hasn't noticed it, but I didn't think you were unaware too." Ishida says, as he pushes up his glasses with an air of superiority. Rukia begins to feel irritated.

"Will you just get to the point?" Rukia asks him in a clipped tone.

"Kurosaki hasn't noticed Inoue-san's feelings for him, because he's all hung up on you, the same exact way that Inoue-san is on him." Ishida says easily, and Rukia's mouth falls open. She narrows her eyes at him, and wonders what his purpose is for having this conversation with her.

"Did Ichigo say something like that to you?" Rukia asks him in a calm and serious tone, as she pins him with a level stare.

"No-" Ishida starts to respond, but he doesn't get past the first word.

"If Ichigo hasn't said anything, then you really don't have a right to speak for him. I won't believe anything like that unless it comes from Ichigo himself." Rukia tells Ishida in a hard voice.

"So you're saying my observations are wrong simply because Kurosaki hasn't come out and admitted it?" Ishida asks her with a look of disbelief on his face.

"I'm saying you can't speak for other people, and your analysis doesn't equate to fact. You can't say that Ichigo is hung up on me, you can only say that you've seen him display strong feelings of caring for me. I won't deny that Ichigo and I are close, but you can't speak for someone else's feelings." Rukia informs Ishida in a cold hard voice. He may be an intelligent kid, but she's got years of experience on him.

"What other explanation do you have for him not noticing Inoue-san's obvious feelings for him?" Ishida asks, trying to make her see things his way.

"I didn't notice any such thing either. That's two against one." Rukia says stubbornly, and Ishida rolls his eyes.

"I spent time with Inoue-san in Soul Society, when you and Kurosaki weren't there. All she talked about was finding him, to help him. She was so scared when he fought, and she was so glad when he came out alive in the fight against your brother." Ishida says quietly.

"You know what I think? I think you're sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, and I really am done with this conversation." Rukia says, as she stands, and Ishida doesn't appreciate that. He stands too.

"Do you want to know what I think?" Ishida gets really angry, and says a few things that he shouldn't, and doesn't even truly feel are true. "I think that you've done nothing but ruin Kurosaki's life, and you'll probably just keep on ruining it." Ishida spits out, and Rukia gasps. "It's all you can expect from a Shinigami." Ishida sneers.

She reaches back before she can even think about it and slaps him so hard across the face that he goes straight to the ground. Rukia realizes that Ishida has become a blur, and she wonders why she's the one with tears in her eyes, when he's the one who just got hit in the face.

Rukia turns on her heel and walks as fast as she can, without running, away from Ishida, and his venomous remarks. She begins to run, after a moment though.

Ishida blinks as he stands up. She has a fierce arm for such a tiny woman.

_I probably went a bit too far…I am so sick of seeing Inoue's sad and depressed face, though!_

Ishida's thoughts are interrupted, by someone clearing their throat behind him, and Ishida sucks in a breath, since he knows who it is immediately.

Ichigo is standing next to the tree, as though he just came out from behind it, with a look of rage, clear in his eyes.

Ishida instinctively takes a step back. Ichigo's arms are crossed, but the look on his face shows how angry he is.

"Kurosaki…how long have you been there for?" Ishida asks, and Ichigo's arm muscles start flinching involuntarily, from keeping his crossed arm stance.

"Long enough. You've got about five seconds to give me one good reason I shouldn't beat the living shit out of you." Ichigo warns Ishida through gritted teeth.

"I can't stand to see Inoue-san so sad anymore!" Ishida belts out, and Ichigo doesn't look pacified.

"How does insulting Rukia accomplish that goal?" Ichigo asks, his voice progressively getting louder.

"I didn't set out to insult her, she made me mad." Ishida admits, and that's when his glasses are smashed right into his face.

Ishida squeezes his eyes shut tight, and thanks his lucky stars that nothing wound up in his eyes.

"Fuck you, Ishida!" Ichigo shouts, before he punches Ishida again.

"Wait!" Ishida shouts as he holds up a hand. "Can't you let a guy remove his glasses before you punch him in the face?" Ishida asks, and he expects Ichigo to stop for a second, but Ichigo punches him in the cheek, and Ishida flies to the ground, where his head hits pretty hard.

Suddenly, Ichigo is standing over him, glaring down at him angrily.

"Don't ever talk to Rukia like that, ever again, or you'll be in much worse shape than I'm leaving you in now." Ichigo growls, before he takes off to run after Rukia. "How does Kon run so fast in my body anyways?" Ichigo mumbles, as he sprints towards his house, and her reiatsu.

Ishida is left dazed on the ground, wondering why he even bothered, since it wasn't worth it, _at all_.

When Ichigo huffs his way to his own house, he heads in the front door, and is shocked to see Rukia at the kitchen table, with a tub of ice cream in her possession.

"Hi, Ichigo." Rukia says, in a fake bright voice, and Ichigo rolls his eyes, before he goes to grab a spoon to join her.

Rukia watches in surprise as he sits down next to her, and digs into the tub of ice cream with her.

"What's wrong with you?" Ichigo asks in a conversational voice, right before he sticks a bite of ice cream into his mouth.

"What do you mean?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo grins at her with a knowing smile.

"Everyone knows that when a woman is in a tub of ice cream, she's depressed about something." Ichigo says, without a hint of doubt in his voice. Rukia watches him for a minute.

_I've loved Ichigo for so long…and even if I agree with Ishida that Ichigo has feelings for me, it's only Ichigo's place to declare such a thing._

"I had an unpleasant conversation with Ishida after school…I'd rather not talk about it." Rukia mutters, and Ichigo stares at her for a second.

"I didn't feel like you hit him hard enough, so I decked him a few more times. Busted his glasses too." Ichigo says as though he's mentioning the weather. Rukia's eyes widen as big as saucers when she hears him say that.

"You did what? Wait…you saw me hit him? Where in the hell were you?" Rukia asks nervously.

"Behind the tree." Ichigo says cheerfully, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"How long were you there for?" Rukia asks him, and Ichigo grins at her.

"I can't believe you didn't pick up on me, I guess Ishida had you kind of rattled though. I was able to hear everything from where you told him that Inoue doesn't love me and on." Ichigo admits, as he takes another spoonful of ice cream.

"You eavesdropped on the conversation?" Rukia squeaks, and Ichigo rolls his eyes at her.

"You were talking about me, it wasn't like I came over there intending to eavesdrop, but I heard Ishida say my name, and neither of you even noticed me. I slipped behind the tree, and heard everything clearly from the part where you said no way, Inoue doesn't love him, meaning me, all the way to the end." Ichigo says, before he eats the spoonful of ice cream that he gathered a moment ago.

"It wasn't my idea to talk about you." Rukia grumbles, before she takes some ice cream herself.

"I figured as much, when I listened to you. I appreciate you telling him that it's not his place to stick his nose in. I was on your side." Ichigo tells her, and he has to concentrate on his ice cream, to keep himself from looking at her and blushing.

"That's good to know." Rukia says, before she takes another spoonful of ice cream.

"Except that Ishida was right about one thing." Ichigo tells her, before she can finish her big bite of ice cream. Her eyes widen and she struggles to hurry and finish the bite she just swallowed, before she looks back at him.

"What was Ishida right about?" Rukia chokes out, before she lets out a little cough, from finishing her ice cream too quickly.

Ichigo saw all of it, and he can't help but to smile at her, which just makes him look ten times more sexy when he answers her.

"He implied that I'm in love with you. He wasn't wrong." Ichigo says, and he stares at Rukia for a reaction. Her eyes are all wide, and she looks like she can hardly believe what she just heard.

Ichigo watches as her hand begins to shake, and she sets the spoon down, to just stare at him.

"After all this time, that's how you decide to tell me?" Rukia utters, and Ichigo smiles again.

"Sorry. Let me try again." Ichigo says, and he begins to blush, like he'd been hoping he wouldn't. "Rukia, I love you." Ichigo says, and Rukia just can not believe it…for a moment. Then she smiles at him.

"Me too…" Rukia says, and Ichigo laughs.

"I guess I'll just have to convince you to say it. Why in the hell isn't any of my family around, cheering for this moment?" Ichigo asks, as he looks around.

"Nobody is here." Rukia says, and before she knows what's happened, Ichigo grabs her up under one arm and sprints upstairs. "Eeeeh! Ichigo what are you doing!?" Rukia yelps as he takes the stairs three at a time.

"This is rare, so we're going to take advantage of it!" Ichigo tells her, as he flies into his room and slams the door shut. He doesn't let her down until it's to sit her on the bed.

_What now?!_

Ichigo looks at Rukia's bewildered face, and he feels very calm, not to mention anxious to kiss her before someone in his family yells that they're home.

"Rukia…" Ichigo whispers, and then he leans in to kiss her.

Rukia's heart is pounding so hard, and so fast, but when his lips crash into hers, she loses her shock. She kisses him back enthusiastically. When she feels his tongue against her own, it makes a shiver run throughout her entire body.

_Ichigo and I are actually kissing! Finally!_

Rukia and Ichigo lay back on their sides. They keep on kissing, since they're both equally happy with the closeness and feelings shared as they do so.

_Oh my god…I should have done this on top of the Soukyoku…why in the hell did it take this long?_

Ichigo kisses her and he begins to rub her arm as he does so. Rukia's hand moves to his face, and then his hair. They don't pull away, and she moves her hand to his neck, while he moves his to her shoulder.

Suddenly, Ichigo pulls away from her, and begins to breathe heavy, even as he feels lightheaded.

"Rukia…we have to stop. All I can think about is taking things further." Ichigo mutters, in annoyance with himself. He only just now experienced the sensation of necking. Why his hands are itching so badly to take it to the next step is a mystery he can't explain. Ichigo closes his eyes and rolls to his back.

Rukia grins and bounces up on top of him.

"You're such a tease." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo's eyes pop open.

"Excuse me?" Ichigo asks, totally confused.

"Shhhh. Just be quiet, and let me take care of things." Rukia says, with a wink. Ichigo's eyes widen as she unbuttons her blouse, and shrugs it off. She unsnaps her bra, and his eyes widen even more. He couldn't speak right now if he wanted to.

_Incredible._

Then she proceeds to unbutton his shirt, and Ichigo can only stare at the tiny seductress on top of him. Before he knows it, she's relieved him of his shirt, and she's now unbuttoning his pants.

Ichigo is bright red, but there's no way he's going to stop her, because his heart is thundering in anticipation of what she might do next. Because his eyes are closed, he doesn't realize that she peels off her panties right after she removes his pants.

He finds out when she climbs back on top of him and straddles his stomach, and he lets out a sound of complete surrender when he feels her…

Rukia can feel it when Ichigo begins to shake a tiny bit under her. His muscles are flexing subconsciously at all of the new feelings she's just brought on, all at once.

Rukia leans over to kiss him, and he slides his hands down her back, all the way to the top of her skirt.

Their kisses change from sweet and loving, to more needy and lustful, and when Rukia takes his bottom lip with her teeth and then rubs her tongue along his bottom lip, Ichigo shivers a bit. Rukia scoots down, and begins to remove his boxers, and Ichigo can only breathe heavily. He hadn't expected it to go this way, but it's better than the best dream he could think up, because she's making him feel…rapturous.

Ichigo closes his eyes when he feels the air hitting him everywhere, and he knows he's blushing. He hears Rukia make what sounds like a squeak in surprise as she stares at him now that he's fully exposed. He opens one eye and turns even redder when he sees where her gaze is centered at.

Rukia gawks a bit.

_Well…I'm getting more than I bargained for here…_

She realizes that Ichigo is looking at her, and is obviously embarrassed, and so she reaches out to touch him. Her eyes widen at how small her hand suddenly seems…

Rukia's never been one to run away from a challenge.

_I'm not scared of this._

She leans back over Ichigo and begins to kiss him again, as she keeps her hands down below.

Ichigo wonders what on earth she's planning, since she very nearly looked scared of his package, but he soon finds out…because suddenly he feels himself against what feels like could possibly be the entrance to heaven. Rukia winces a bit as she lowers herself, and she feels a bit of resistance, which she forces her way past rather slowly.

"Holy shit…Rukia!" Ichigo groans, as she slowly but surely lowers herself over the length of him. Ichigo feels like his whole body is reacting to this intimate touch, and he wraps his arms tight around her, to hold her still a moment. She stares deep into his eyes.

"I love you, Ichigo." Rukia whispers softly, and Ichigo kisses her, hard on the lips.

"God Rukia…I love you so much…" Ichigo moans as Rukia begins to shift on top of him. He sucks in a very loud breath when she does that.

"It didn't hurt as bad as I thought it might." Rukia whispers, and Ichigo nuzzles her ear.

"I'm glad." Ichigo whispers back, and Rukia shifts again.

She sits up, and Ichigo about dies as he actually looks at her, on top of him, while they're in the middle of making love. It's the hottest thing he's ever seen in his life.

Rukia surprises the hell out of him when she suddenly raises herself up and slams down on top of him.

"Ohhhh…." Ichigo groans, and he begins to twitch a bit, involuntarily.

Rukia is completely fascinated by the response that she just got out of him, and so she does it again, except she doesn't pause before she continues the motion.

"I've always wanted to do this with you," Rukia says, and that does it for Ichigo. The combination of her saying that and moving makes him make a noise unlike any he's ever made before.

Rukia pauses and Ichigo draws her down into his arms.

"Rukia…" Ichigo mutters, and she kisses him.

"I know…" Rukia whispers back, and neither one of them move.

They stay like that so long, that Ichigo never goes completely soft, but he does end up getting hard again. Rukia is amazed, since the second time lasts a few minutes, rather than a few seconds, and he puts in the effort the second time around.

_Much Later..._

When they finally get dressed, and go downstairs right at seven, they're still surprised that nobody is home.

"Shit! We left the ice cream out!" Ichigo groans, and Rukia laughs as the ice cream is completely melted, and the table is sticky.

Rukia wipes off the table, and Ichigo yanks out some leftovers. They are in the middle of eating, when his father and sisters walk in, with take out.

"Why didn't you call, if you were bringing home dinner?" Ichigo asks, and Isshin grins at him.

"I happened to be driving by your school today, to go and pick up the girls, when I saw Rukia-chan running away from school, and then I spotted you, hitting some kid. I figured the two of you might want a little bit of privacy, so I took the girls out, and left you alone. You can thank me later." Isshin says, and Ichigo begins to blush.

Rukia's eyes widen, and she shakes her head thoughtfully at Ichigo's father.

_That old man is so wily!_


	38. As Requested: Foul Mouths

_**A/N-I had a request to do a continuation, of Our Own, (chapter 33) where the twins are toddlers. It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**_

_Foul Mouths_

Once every one hundred years, the Kuchiki Clan has always thrown a huge celebration, hosted by the head of the Kuchiki clan. It's been like this for thousands of years, and it happens to be that the party is due to be held. The party always lasts a minimum of twenty-four hours, and has even been known to last as long as seventy-two hours in the past.

This is Rukia's first time ever, attending the party. She hadn't been adopted at the time of the last one, and her brother sent a hell butterfly, letting her know that he had obtained spirit exchangers for her children, so that they could come along too, and that there would be a nanny so that Rukia and Ichigo could actually have fun.

Ever since they gave birth to their first son, a year ago, they've had their hands full, between the girls and their mischievous son, Ayumu. Rukia hasn't told Ichigo yet, but they're arriving a full day early, to give ni-sama some quality time with the kids.

"Damn it!" Ichigo's voice roars, and Rukia sighs. It's because of him that their beautiful daughters have already learned the fine art of swearing like a trucker. "Look at this fucking mess!" Ichigo seems really pissed off.

"What is it, Ichigo?" Rukia calls downstairs, as she was about to take Ayumu into the bathroom to bathe him.

"Rukia did you leave the flour out? The girls somehow got into it, don't ask me how, and the entire kitchen, and them are all covered in it!" Ichigo yells up, and Rukia cringes.

"I don't even want to see what that must look like." Rukia mutters, and she hurries into the bathroom and closes the door.

She swears she hears something after that, but she turns on the water, and blocks the nightmare downstairs, out of her mind. She would never get anything done, if she went running, every time Ichigo wanted to yell about something.

Downstairs, Ichigo looks around the kitchen, at a complete loss as to what he's supposed to clean first. He looks at his two identically cute daughters, covered in white flour.

"How in the hell did the two of you even manage this?" Ichigo asks, since he's at a loss for words, on how this could have happened.

His daughters watch him very carefully. They always seem very entranced, or amused whenever Ichigo is being loud, like he is being now.

When Rukia gets downstairs, twenty minutes later, Ichigo hasn't made too much progress on getting the kitchen cleaned up. Rukia's mouth drops open when she sees the mess. At least he got the girls cleaned up first, so that Rukia didn't have to deal with that.

"Why weren't you watching them?!" Rukia wails, as she looks around, at the hopeless mess they have on their hands.

_How in the hell did they get flour, everywhere?_

"I only turned my back for a few seconds! I don't even know how they got the flour off the counter!" Ichigo mutters, as he wipes off the counter.

"Mama! Mama!" Mika starts to chant, so Rukia squats down with Ayumu.

"I'll finish cleaning, just go and play with the kids, to keep them busy while I finish up in here." Ichigo says, and Rukia smiles gratefully.

She stands to walk out of the room, and the two girls immediately follow after her. They always do, unless Ichigo holds them back. All three of his kids are mama's kids…just like he was a mama's boy when he was a kid. He can't blame them, he loves to be with Rukia as much as they do.

_Later…_

"Do we have everything?" Rukia asks as she checks the diaper bag again for the third time.

"I'm pretty sure we have everything important." Ichigo says, as he pulls along two suitcases. One has his and Rukia's things, and the other has everything the kids should need, in addition to the diaper bag that Rukia is carrying.

"Okay, now for the stroller." Rukia says, "but first..." She pops her gikongan next.

She pulls out the double seated stroller, and seats the girls in it, and then she puts on the baby carrier, so that she can carry Ayumu without having to hold him. Ichigo puts down the suitcases, and arranges Ayumu in the sack. She can do it herself, when he isn't around, but it's always easier when Ichigo helps her with the carrier.

Ichigo runs upstairs to the baby's room to locate Kon. His daughters claimed him as their own property, ever since they were old enough to crawl.

"Ichigo! You bastard! Locking me in here with those two loud kids of yours!" Kon shouts, when Ichigo finds him in Mika's crib.

"Well you get to have a bit of freedom for a few days, but if I come back and learn that you did anything unpleasant, I'll find new and interesting ways of punishing you." Ichigo says, before he pops the pill out of the stuffed animal, and into his mouth.

"Like you haven't tortured me enough!" Kon mutters, and Ichigo grins at him.

"Chappy will be here to keep an eye on you too, so don't do anything stupid." Ichigo says, and Kon just rolls his eyes.

"Alright, see you." Kon says in a depressed voice.

Ichigo waves and flies back downstairs, to grab the suitcases.

"Keep an eye on Kon." Rukia orders Chappy, who salutes Rukia respectfully.

"Come on." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia nods. Ichigo opens the door, and Rukia pushes the stroller out. Once outside, Rukia unsheathes her zanpakutou, and pushes it into an invisible lock.

"Unlock!" Rukia calls out, and the gates leading to Soul Society open up.

It's habit, to hurry through, since it can be dangerous to travel like this, but Ichigo keeps alert for any sign of trouble. They both breathe a sigh of relief, when they reach Soul Society with no problems.

Their kids are already popular with the highest ranked Shinigami. Almost everyone of importance has met their young children already. Kenpachi smiles when he sees Ayumu on Rukia's back.

"So one came out looking like you, eh Ichigo? I wonder if he will be able to fight as good as you." Kenpachi says, as he licks his lips. Yachiru pops her head up and waves at the couple.

"Welcome back! Icchy, will you be able to play with Ken-chan today?" Yachiru asks, and Ichigo turns white at the mere idea of it.

"No…I won't ever be able to play with Kenpachi, sorry. I have kids to live for now." Ichigo says, and Kenpachi laughs at that remark.

"What the hell?" Rini suddenly says, catching Kenpachi's attention.

"What the hell is this?" Mika suddenly says next, causing the couple to turn bright red. Yachiru starts to laugh so hard that she loses her balance on Kenpachi's shoulder. He catches her in time before she flies head first into the ground.

"Mika! Rini!" Rukia says in horror before she glares at Ichigo. His eyes are wide.

"They choose now of all times, to start repeating what they've heard today?" Ichigo groans, and Rukia doesn't look too thrilled.

"Just before we're supposed to see ni-sama…" Rukia mutters, and Yachiru laughs as Kenpachi sets her onto the ground. She hurries over to the stroller. Mika scowls at her and reaches out to swipe at Yachiru's pink hair.

"She scowls, just like Icchy!" Yachiru says with an amused laugh, and Kenpachi laughs at her statement.

"They sound like him too." Kenpachi says, and Rukia blushes harder.

"I hope they got that out of their system." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia nods her head.

Renji suddenly appears, and he smiles at the family.

"The captain sent me here to greet you, and help you carry stuff to the Kuchiki manor." Renji says, with a happy grin.

"Renji!" Rukia says excitedly. She hasn't seen him in months.

"Long time no see, Rukia." Renji says with a grin as he approaches closer.

Ayumu lets out a shrill scream, right near Rukia's ear, and Rukia jumps at that.

"Want me to take him?" Renji asks, and Ichigo tosses the suitcases at him.

"I'll take my son. You take these." Ichigo tells him, and Renji is forced to either catch the suitcases, or be hit by them, so he catches them, and watches with a small envious smile as Ichigo pulls his son off of Rukia's back.

It's scary, how much the father and son resemble each other. Renji finds himself wishing he had a small boy who resembled himself to carry around.

"How cute!" Yachiru squeals, the moment Ayumu is grinning happily from his father's arms. Even Ichigo's a bit surprised. Typically his son prefers to be with Rukia.

Ichigo looks over at his wife, who looks relieved to have her back free of the added weight of their one year old son.

"Alright we'll see you all tomorrow at the party. Rukia and I are heading to the house of doom now." Ichigo says, and Rukia glares at him.

He's never been one to be excited when they are visiting with Byakuya ni-sama.

_At The Kuchiki Manor…_

"Where is your brother at anyways?" Ichigo asks as the servants have already led them to their room, where three cribs are at for their convenience.

"Ni-sama is a very busy man. I'm sure we'll see him shortly." Rukia answers, as she puts all three of her kids into the cribs.

"What's beyond that door?" Ichigo asks, pointing behind the cribs.

"The bathroom." Rukia answers absentmindedly, as she presents each girl a sippy cup filled with juice, and her son a bottle.

"I can think of a way to pass the time…" Ichigo says, as all of his kids are no occupied. Rukia glances up, and her eyes widen when she sees the look in her husband's eyes.

"We can't! Not now!" Rukia argues, but Ichigo just gives her the same sexy smile that convinced her to get into bed with him to conceive the miracles, currently in the room with them now.

"Come on, Rukia…I don't have the rabbit costume, I'd put it on right now if I did." Ichigo says, still grinning at her.

"The children!" Rukia exclaims, and Ichigo begins to hop towards her, making her feel a tingling on the inside. She can picture him as a rabbit perfectly.

"They're busy…we can just go into the bathroom, and make love." Ichigo says, and Rukia begins to smile.

"Alright…" Rukia says, and Ichigo grabs her hand and drags her behind him, into the bathroom.

Rukia can't help but to laugh, the whole way there. When they get inside, Ichigo begins yanking his robes off like he's starved for sex. He proceeds to do the same to Rukia, and then ogle her for a minute before kissing her passionately.

"You're as sexy now as you were the first time we made love…" Ichigo groans in her ear, and Rukia smiles, before she replies.

"You are too, my delicious strawberry bunny." Rukia whispers, and Ichigo kisses her fiercely.

"I'll get you back for that…" Ichigo says suggestively, and Rukia laughs. Ichigo sinks to his knees and looks up at his gorgeous wife with desire. "I'll make you scream." Ichigo promises.

"I'm counting on it…" Rukia whispers, before she lets out a long moan of pleasure. He sure has learned the right ways to get her going quickly, he knows her body inside and out.

_Ten Minutes Later…_

"Mama! Mama! Mama!" Rini shouts at the top of her lungs.

"Mama! Mama!" Mika joins in.

Their eyes are staring hard at the bathroom door, where they just heard their mother let out a scream. They hear their father let out what sounds like a very loud grunt, and then a moment later, he begins to chuckle loudly. They hurry back out, still pulling their clothes into place.

"Jeez Ichigo! Were you hoping to get caught by ni-sama?" Rukia asks with a blush.

"I always keep my promises to my Rukia…isn't that why I'm here right now?" Ichigo asks, as he looks around the room with a sigh.

"If you didn't come with me, I'd stay here with the kids in Soul Society for a month." Rukia grumbles, and Ichigo snaps his gaze at her.

"Don't even joke like that. I don't even like being away from you for more than a day." Ichigo tells her. "Since a day without you already feels long as hell." Ichigo says, as he remembers fighting in Hueco Mundo without her at his side. One day had felt like well over a year...and that hadn't even been a full day.

Rukia smoothes out her hair, and then she hurries over to pick up Mika. Ichigo does the same with Rini, and it's at the moment that both of them have a child in their arms that Byakuya busts in the room.

"Rukia!" Byakuya exclaims, "Are you okay?" Byakuya asks. "I heard you scream." Byakuya says, and Rukia begins to blush.

"Who in the hell are you?" Mika asks, pointing at her uncle.

"What the fuck?" Rini says next, and this causes the married couple to both blush a deep shade of red, while Byakuya stares at his nieces completely speechless.

Ayumu picks this moment to pull himself into a standing position in his crib. He looks over at Byakuya.

"Fuck!" Ayumu loudly repeats, after his sisters, and Rukia coughs.

"Ni-sama…" Rukia says, and Ichigo doesn't meet his brother-in-law in the eyes.

_Three for three. All three of them just fucking swore at him._

Byakuya appears to be trying to stay calm, while Rukia looks terribly nervous.

"I trust that they can all say more than just that?" Byakuya asks in a suffocating voice.

Rukia's head begins bobbing up and down.

"Oh yes, ni-sama…I'm sorry about that!" Rukia says, feeling like she could die of embarrassment.

"Fuck you!" Mika says, right at her uncle, and Rukia claps her hand over her daughter's mouth.

"I really don't know what's gotten into them! They don't normally do this!" Rukia assures him.

"Mama!" Rini starts to reach out for Rukia, and Ichigo rolls his eyes.

"Sorry, Byakuya." Ichigo says, and Ayumu instantly snaps his head back to his uncle, after watching his father.

"Sorry Bekooya." Ayumu repeats, childishly.

Byakuya steps over to Rukia's son's crib and picks up Ayumu, who is instantly enthralled with Byakuya's long hair.

Byakuya looks at the child, but there is only one feature that is Rukia's, and that is the shape of his eyes. The color though, is just like Ichigo's, and if he narrows his eyes and scowls, he can probably mimic his father perfectly.

"I forgive you." Byakuya says, as he looks at the tiny child.

Rukia starts to breathe easy, and she slowly removes her hand from Mika's face.

Rukia sets Mika down, to take Rini from Ichigo, and Mika runs over to grab on her uncle's robe.

"Up!" Mika orders him in a loud voice. Ichigo walks over to collect his son, and Byakuya picks up Mika as she ordered him to do.

Byakuya can feel his insides twisting with emotion, since Mika looks so much like what he had always dreamed a daughter of his and Hisana's would look like.

"I wish Hisana could have met you, minus the swearing." Byakuya tells his niece, and she smiles as she grabs his face with her hands and leans forward to kiss him on the nose.

Byakuya blinks. He hasn't been kissed in decades. The last person to kiss him, was his wife.

Ichigo and Rukia both exchange a nervous glance with one another as Byakuya stares at Mika in wonder, and then he looks over at Rini, in Rukia's arms.

"You have beautiful children, Rukia." Byakuya says, before he smiles at his niece.

"Thanks, ni-sama..." Rukia says, in amazement.

"Want to explore?" Byakuya asks Mika, and Rukia holds up a hand.

"Ni-sama? The girls have been getting into an awful lot of mischief lately, I hope she won't be a bother!" Rukia says, and Byakuya smiles.

"Don't worry about us." Byakuya says, and he goes around to show off his niece to everyone in the Kuchiki clan.

_Hisana would have adored you, even if you did say fuck you to her._

Back in in their room, Ichigo and Rukia just stare at each other in shock.

"Well, that could have only gone worse if he'd entered the room a minute earlier." Ichigo informs his wife, who nods her head in agreement. Then she smiles at Ichigo.

"At least he left me with the daughter who isn't stinky." Rukia says, as she hugs Rini with a smile. Ichigo rolls his eyes.

"Now that they're practically potty trained, it really won't matter too much longer." Ichigo says, even though he thinks his wife looks completely adorable, hugging Rini like she is. As the girls get older, they only resemble their mother more and more strongly.

Having a family makes Ichigo extremely happy, in ways he never even imagined that it could.

_It's because of Rukia, that I'm this happy, and because of her that I love having a family of my own. Even if my kids do have foul mouths._

**A/N-Ayumu means walk plus dream/vision, according to the new website I was directed to, for Japanese names! Hope you enjoyed!**


	39. As Requested: Ichigo's Decision

_**A/N- I had a request to do a one shot, where Ichigo has to choose who to save, when more than one person he knows is in danger. This is dedicated to that person, please enjoy!**_

_Ichigo's Decision_

Ichigo wants to bang his head against the desk. He gets excellent grades, and does well on his tests, despite a certain petite Shinigami keeping him out at ungodly hours of the night to kill hollow after hollow. He wishes she'd keep him up late to do _other_ things.

_So why am I in remedial class with all of the idiots?_

He asked that very question earlier, and the teacher informed him icily that he needed to buckle down, because things were only going to get harder. She said she'd noticed he'd been missing a lot of school, and had been tardy on many occasions, which is why she wants him in the remedial class, after the regular classes end.

Of course, Rukia didn't have to go. No, she used her memory modifier and the teacher believed she was never absent or tardy.

_She should have modified sensei's memory to believe that I'd never been tardy or absent too!_

Ichigo nearly groans in boredom. He spends most of the time, staring at the clock. He knows all of the material that they're going over, and he ends up aggravating the teacher, because without looking at his book or notes, he's able to answer every question she throws at him, accurately.

"Is he here to make us all feel dumber?" Keigo whines with wide eyes, since he hadn't known even one of the answers to the questions that Ichigo had been able to answer correctly, without even paying close attention to the teacher.

Ichigo gets a bit sick of watching time move much more slowly than what he's used to, and so he glances out the window, and nearly falls over in his chair.

Rukia is in the window, with her face pressed into the glass, making a silly face at him. Her eyes look a bit glazed over, but Ichigo just thinks it's the glass.

Ichigo throws an angry glare at her, and his heart about stops, when Rukia turns around and moons him, before she disappears.

_She just fucking mooned me?!_

Now he can't get her lovely moon out of his head. He starts to think about how he's going to wrestle her to the ground, when he finally finds her, to explain in great detail, why a girl should never moon a guy.

_I wonder what she'll say when I tell her that it made me want her._

Ichigo practically laughs at himself. He is not gutsy enough to do that. He can hardly even imagine him getting an admission like that out, without making a complete ass of himself.

The class continues to drag on, for another hour, before he's _finally_ excused. Somehow, he feels completely exhausted, being forced to sit in the classroom an extra two and a half hours. He slowly gathers his things, so that he can start his long and lonely walk home alone.

When Ichigo finally makes it into his own bedroom, he groans, since he has a mountain of homework to do, and much less time than usual to complete it. He wonders how the idiots in class can manage the remedial classes all of the time, with the homework on top of it. It's no wonder that they never advance, since they're constantly behind.

_If I have to go to any more remedial classes, I'll start on my homework while I sit there. This is bullshit. Where in the hell is Rukia?_

Ichigo knows she's not in his room, and the last time he saw her, she was mooning him. Ichigo sighs and grabs a pencil. She's nowhere near the house.

Suddenly, a reiatsu appears, and it's so strong, Ichigo snaps the pencil in his hand, without meaning to, in reaction to the feel of the reiatsu. It's terrifyingly huge.

Ichigo instantly starts feeling for Rukia and his friends, when he feels a second reiatsu appear. He jumps to his feet, when he realizes that both Rukia, and Inoue are about to confront the dangers, that have appeared. He pops himself out of his body and goes to his window, where he pauses uncharacteristically. Inoue and Rukia are nowhere near each other, he can only help one of them. Rukia is the love of his life, but Inoue is insanely weak.

He quickly makes his decision, and hops out of his window.

* * *

Inoue stops in her tracks, when an unknown arrancar approaches her. It feels as strong as the Espada that she's felt in the past. He's not as tall as some of the other Espada, but his purple hair is styled similarly to the way Grimmjow styled his hair. His eyes are black and yellow. His partial mask only covers his left ear, left cheek, and left side of his nose. He's ripped full of muscles, and he looks full of killing intent.

"What do you want?" Inoue asks in fear, as the arrancar approaches her.

"I want to see your insides…all of them. Then I want to feast on you. That's okay with you, isn't it? You won't put up a struggle, right?" The Arrancar asks her, as he licks his lips.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue breathes fearfully, as she stares in fear at the hungry looking arrancar in front of her.

"I want to feel your heart in my hand, and I want to crush it until it squeezes out through my fingers." He informs her next.

Inoue stares dumbly at the hollow, and just as she's about to get attacked, she's suddenly flying out of the arrancar's range at an incredible speed.

* * *

"I'm glad I ran into you," Gin says with his trademark creepy smile at Rukia.

"I'm not." Rukia says, as she tries to hold back a look of disgust.

Nothing has changed, not with his creepy mannerisms, or the way he mockingly talks to her. She holds her zanpakutou protectively, but she feels that familiar sensation, of snakes slithering around her body, in particular around her neck…and tightening their grip slowly but surely.

"I've always found myself rather interested in you. You're such an interesting Shinigami, since you don't have any evil within your soul at all. You know that they say opposites attract." Gin says, as his creepy smile grows even wider.

"Except that I feel no attraction for you, whatsoever." Rukia says in a hard voice, and Gin chuckles.

"You're so cold, just like always." Gin says, and Rukia cringes, visibly.

"Don't talk like you know me." Rukia says in a disgusted voice.

"Don't worry, I still like you." Gin says, with a grin.

"Here I thought you liked Lieutenant Matsumoto." Rukia says, and Gin smiles.

"A man can like more than one." Gin says with a chuckle. "You're so innocent." Gin adds, which pisses Rukia off. She holds Sode No Shirayuki in the air.

"Keep on believing that! Dance! Sode No Shirayuki!" Rukia chants at the top of her lungs, and Gin smiles at her.

"Lovely…it really _is_ a beautiful sight. I could watch you release over and over again," Gin says, smiling over his double entendre.

"Shut the fuck up." Rukia growls, as she holds Sode No Shirayuki defensively.

_Can I actually beat someone of his level? I have to try!_

Rukia can feel her heart pounding in nervousness. She keeps her eyes on him, and he takes his time, unsheathing his zanpakutou. Everything about him makes every hair on her neck and arms, stand on end, because he's so incredibly creepy.

"I think of this as fun playtime, with you, Rukia-chan." Gin says, with another one of his sick smiles.

Rukia is livid. To her, this is a terrifying thing, to be facing someone who is captain class. To have him look at it as playtime infuriates her to no end.

"I'm not your toy!" Rukia growls. Gin laughs.

"Yes you are, whether you like it or not." Gin says, enjoying how her face turns red, due to her anger.

Gin starts to release his reiatsu, and Rukia tightens her grip on Sode No Shirayuki. She's surprised that it isn't paralyzing her, probably because she spends so much time with Ichigo when he's exuding reiatsu to the max.

"Way of Destruction-" Rukia starts to say, but Gin starts to use shunpo to confuse her direction.

"Shoot her dead, Shinsou." Gin says, and Rukia gasps as the reiatsu is now far too strong for her to do much more than to stare, as her cause for death comes flying towards her face.

Then it's a black kimono in front of her, and Rukia crumbles to the ground, as she looks up and nearly cries in relief when she sees the comforting sight of Ichigo's orange hair. His back is to her, and he's protecting her body with his own, and of course Zangetsu.

"I've been wanting to kill you ever since you attacked Jidanbou. I wanted to kill you even more when you attempted to kill Rukia on Soukyoku Hill, and now I rescind your right to live!" Ichigo roars, as he breathes heavily.

If he had been just a moment later, he'd have no more Rukia in his life, to stop the rain.

"You're still a funny kid. What makes you think you can beat me?" Gin asks with a sick grin.

"This." Ichigo says, and he holds Zangetsu tight in his hands. "Bankai…Tensa Zangetsu." Ichigo says, and as he's transforming, he pulls the mask over his face.

"That's nothing." Gin says, before he pulls on his own mask.

Rukia freaks out when she feels Gin's reiatsu multiply even more. She can't see it, nor does she want to.

"I already told you, I will no longer allow you to live!" Ichigo shouts, in his hollow sounding voice. Rukia flinches as the reiatsu in the air, feels like it could nearly tear her apart.

Suddenly she's moving. Ichigo snatched her up, and he flies her out of harms way, before he pulls his mask up to look at her.

"I'll kill him for you, Rukia." Ichigo promises, before he flies at top speed, directly back at Gin.

* * *

"Thank you for saving me!" Inoue says, as she keeps her eyes squeezed shut.

"I'll always come to save you, Inoue-san. Are you okay?" Ishida asks, and Inoue opens her eyes as Ishida finally stops.

"I'm really okay, thanks to you." Inoue says, and Ishida grins at her.

"I have to go help Sado. He charged in to fight so I could get you out of there safely." Ishida says, and he sets Inoue down.

"Stay safe, Ishida-kun!" Inoue calls out.

_I was lucky to be saved…why do I feel sad that it wasn't Kurosaki-kun who came to save me?_

Inoue closes her eyes, and she can feel Kurosaki-kun, involved in a serious fight.

"Stay safe, Kurosaki-kun." Inoue says in a soft voice. She stands there, fretting as the guys all risk their lives, to protect the inhabitants of Karakura Town.

* * *

"Rain down…Shinsou!" Gin calls out, and a storm of zanpakutous come raining down towards Ichigo at an amazing rate of speed.

Gin's eyes widen as Ichigo blocks every blade that threatens his body, and then appears behind him.

"Die." Ichigo growls, in his hollow voice, and Gin is only barely able to shunpo out of the way.

"Whew! Dangerous, Kurosaki Ichigo…if I hadn't moved, you might have actually killed me!" Gin says, as he uses his free hand to fan his face.

"Fuck you." Ichigo hisses, and Gin laughs.

"I hope she's worth dying for." Gin says with a creepy smile. Ichigo's eyes narrow at him.

"She always has been, and always will be…not that I'm dying today!" Ichigo says as he gives Gin one of the most hateful looks that he's ever given anybody.

"I think when I kill you, that I'll make her look at what's left of you. That would make me happy if I could see her looking completely devastated. I want watch when her heart shatters." Gin says with a smirk, and Ichigo scoffs at him.

"I'm not going to be killed by a bitch like you." Ichigo tells him, before he goes on attack again.

Gin is a bit overwhelmed by Ichigo's quickness, which he can't hope to match. Gin begins to chant a binding spell incoherently, so that Ichigo doesn't notice.

* * *

"El Director!" Sado calls out, as he sends a powerful attack at the purple haired arrancar.

That's when Ishida flies in, using his Flying Curtain Legs, and Seele Schneider to end the life of the arrancar.

"We make a pretty good team, don't we, Sado-kun!" Ishida yells with a grin, and Sado nods his head in agreement, as he gives Ishida a thumbs up signal.

* * *

"Way of Binding, Number Ninety-Nine! Kin!" Gin calls out confidently, and he smiles hugely, as Ichigo's arms are thrown behind him, and bound together.

Ichigo has his mask on though, and not even a spell in the nineties can immobilize him when he's like this. When Ichigo rips apart the binding easily, he flies up into the sky and dive bombs at Gin, who can't figure out what in the hell just happened.

Rukia can feel Ichigo's killing intent from where he left her, and she worries for him, since she can still feel Gin…

Gin never realizes where Ichigo is at, until Zangetsu pierces through his head…and by the time he's done having the realization, he's dead.

Ichigo uses shunpo to get back to Rukia, and when he appears in front of her, she can't help herself, she throws her arms around him.

"I'm so glad you're alive!" Rukia says, as she breathes heavily, from worrying, and now being relieved.

"The fox faced bastard is dead." Ichigo tells her, and then he hugs her back.

Ichigo can feel that the other opponent who was after Inoue has been killed, so he has no reason to cut short his private moment with Rukia.

"If you hadn't come when you did…" Rukia mutters, and Ichigo smiles.

"Hey, where's the crazy bitch who was smiling and mooning me earlier?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia instantly pulls away from him. She turns bright red, and then she refuses to meet his eyes.

A minute after she had done it, she'd been so mortified…she and Yoruichi had been on the school roof, doing strawberry jello shots, and Rukia had only mooned him because she'd been pretty drunk. Luckily Yoruichi had a bottle of coveted pills in her purse, and she had immediately made Rukia eat one, after Rukia mooned Ichigo in his class window. After eating the pill, was when the mortification had set in.

"That drunken bitch isn't here." Rukia mutters, and Ichigo steps forward and grabs a hold of her chin.

"You can't do that kind of stuff to me, because it makes me want you." Ichigo says, since he feels like he can, after watching Rukia nearly die.

"I was drunk!" Rukia tells him, and Ichigo shakes his head.

"Unreal. While I'm suffering in remedial class, you were getting drunk? Why did you come out to fight, drunk?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia keeps on blushing.

"I didn't stay drunk, thanks to the sober-up pill that Yoruichi-san gave me." Rukia explains.

Ichigo smiles at her and leans down to kiss her. He doesn't feel it necessary to tell her that he had felt both her and Inoue in danger at the same time. Knowing her, she'd get mad that he came to protect her, rather than Inoue. For Rukia, Ichigo knows he'd make the same choice, over and over again.

_My heart stops when you're in trouble. Saving you means the most to me._


	40. As Requested: Let's Call It A Night

**A/N-I had a request to do this one, it's dedicated to the one that requested it! For this one shot, Rukia and Ichigo are already a couple. Please enjoy!**

_Let's Call It A Night_

Ichigo knows that Rukia won't be able to join him for this hollow hunt, since her spirit phone is in the bedroom where he's at, and she just got into the shower. He hops out the window before he remembers to pop out of his body, so he leaves it on the ground outside of his house.

Ichigo gets to the location immediately, by utilizing his shunpo in order to arrive in time to kill the hollow before it can cause harm to anyone.

It doesn't require much effort on Ichigo's part to kill the hollow, he only has to fly in with one swing, to complete the job.

"I wish it were always that easy." Ichigo says, and he puts Zangetsu on his back.

Ichigo decides to hurry back, and he hopes he'll make it back to his room before Rukia makes it out of the shower. The trees are a blur, as he moves at top speed, back home. Now that the hollow is no longer a threat, he finds himself imagining Rukia showering, washing herself…all naked.

He has always imagined her naked a lot, he just doesn't typically talk out loud about the fact that he has those thoughts. It's next to impossible to have a girl as cute as Rukia camp in your room for two months, without having those sorts of thoughts.

He finally admitted to Rukia that he had those thoughts a lot, after they became a couple, and she had admitted that it had been the same for her.

The shift in their relationship, to define themselves as a couple had been less difficult than either of them imagined. Ichigo suddenly realized that he'd always acted a bit like her boyfriend even without the declaration of being a couple.

They don't act too much differently, in the company of their friends, but when they're alone, everything is different than it used to be. Now instead of trading insults, they cuddle. Instead of greeting him with a punch or a kick, she greets him with a kiss. In private, she prefers intimacy to violence these days.

It's been a pleasant change for Ichigo as well. He'll take a kiss from Rukia over a kick,_ any_ day. Now that they're together, they both find life far less stressful than they used to.

For Ichigo, Rukia is the perfect girlfriend. She isn't like the other girls he knows, and was never interested in. She's always been someone he's been interested in, whether he would have admitted it in the past or not.

Ichigo's mind is filled with thoughts of Rukia as he arrives home, and sighs in relief that his body has been left alone in his absence. He figures he shouldn't hop through the window, in case Rukia spots him entering that way. It would be better if he came from downstairs.

Ichigo hurries to the front door and walks in. His father sidles out of the kitchen to confront him.

"You left without bringing back a present for Rukia-chan?! You're going to lose her, if you don't treat her right!" Isshin yells, and Ichigo scowls at his father.

"Shut the hell up! When I want your opinion, I'll give it to you!" Ichigo tells Isshin, who tries to punch him. Ichigo dodges, and Isshin ends up decking the front door.

"Ow! Fuck! That hurt!" Isshin yelps as he sucks in a pained breath.

"You deserved it." Ichigo tells him, and Isshin just holds his hand.

"I think I broke it!" Isshin whines, and Ichigo hurries up the stairs, and away from his crazy father.

He slides into his room, and locks the door.

Rukia is laying on his bed, wearing the pajamas that he bought for her right after they started dating. She looks sexy in hell in the black and blue short shorts, and halter top. He should have known she'd sense the hollow even without her phone, and worry about him, when he went to kill it alone.

"Rukia sits up, and gives him the once over. She nods her head and lets out a tiny breath of relief that he appears to be unharmed.

"How did it go?" Rukia asks, though she already knows the answer.

"It wasn't even a battle, I just slaughtered it." Ichigo says with a grin, and Rukia shakes her head.

"Were you a reckless idiot like always?" Rukia asks with a raised eyebrow. Ichigo pretends to pout at her.

"I didn't even take one hit, and you're still calling me reckless?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia smiles.

"Don't forget an idiot." Rukia reminds him, before she sticks out her chest, and beckons him to come over.

Ichigo feels his heart start to beat faster, at the come hither look that she's giving him. No argument ensues, because Ichigo is more than happy to do as she is directing him to do.

Rukia grabs him when he sits on the bed, and she proceeds to kiss him. She wants to show her gratitude that he arrived home safely, and because she's addicted to the feel of him. Ichigo responds with equal passion, and Rukia pulls away to look into his gorgeous eyes.

"Rukia…" Ichigo whispers achingly, and she grins at him.

"Stand up!" Rukia orders him loudly, and without thinking, Ichigo jumps straight to his feet.

Then he frowns when he realizes he did as she said without a second thought.

"Why-" Ichigo starts to ask, but Rukia interrupts him.

"Remove your clothes!" Rukia says, and Ichigo's eyes widen as he glances back towards the door.

"Don't be so loud! My dad will hear you!" Ichigo says, before he works to remove his clothes as quickly as his body will allow him to. Rukia's mouth curves up into a smile when he's standing naked before her.

"You're so sexy when you follow orders." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo blushes.

"Don't say that…" Ichigo mutters, but Rukia stands up on the bed.

"Come closer…" Rukia whispers, and Ichigo immediately steps forward.

Rukia climbs onto him, and holds onto his neck with her arms, as she wraps her legs around his waist. She kisses him again, and he kisses her back. Ichigo's hands side all over her body, since she's attached herself to him, and he turns around so that he can sit on the bed, with her in his lap.

"How come I'm the only one who's naked?" Ichigo asks, when they finally pull away.

Rukia keeps a straight face as she answers him.

"Because you haven't undressed me, yet." Rukia answers, and Ichigo immediately works to remedy that situation.

Her halter top comes first, then he grabs her and turns her sideways on his lap, so that he can shimmy down her shorts, without having to break contact.

"You drive me crazy, Rukia…" Ichigo murmurs, before he begins running his hands all over her bare and newly revealed skin.

"That was the plan," Rukia says flirtatiously, and she pulls him back in to kiss her again.

"Then I should return the favor…I know what drives you wild…" Ichigo tells her, before he scoots her off of him and then he gently pushes her legs apart.

In the time they've been together, he's gotten to know what it's like, to be with her intimately, he's also learned how she likes to be stimulated during oral sex. He loves it when her body starts to shake from him licking her like he is now. He stays there, until she can't take it anymore, and drags him up by his hair.

Rukia is breathing heavily, he practically made her head spin with that, and she holds him close. Ichigo begins to kiss her throat, and Rukia lets out a long moan, before she pushes him off of her.

"My turn…" Rukia says, and her voice sounds like she has a plan. Ichigo is pushed down onto his back, and Rukia proceeds to use her tongue to drive him as mad as he was driving her.

"Rukia…let me…" Ichigo wants to give her pleasure too, but she just moves her tongue faster, and talking becomes an impossibility. Ichigo lets out a long moan as she uses her lips and tongue to bring him damn near a climax.

Finally Ichigo sits up, and grabs her on either side of her face to pull her in for a kiss, to show her how much he loves her. He also wants to show her how grateful he is, for what she just did for him.

As they kiss, Rukia slowly moves herself over him, and reaches down to pull his arousal into the perfect position for entry.

Ichigo immediately realizes what she's up to, and the moment she slips him inside of her, he uses his height and weight to flip her onto her back before she even realizes what happened.

"Hey!" Rukia says, and Ichigo smiles.

"Just enjoy it," Ichigo whispers, before he pulls out of her and moves off of her to the side of the bed.

Rukia's eyes widen as he grabs her legs and pulls her over to the edge of the bed. He leans over her, and then proceeds to make love to her, with as much energy as he could put into it, for her to get complete enjoyment. Rukia quits pouting about being overtaken for the top position, which makes Ichigo happy, since this is the first time in over a week that he's gotten to show her everything he can put into making love to her.

He's slowly learned how to delay his orgasms so that he doesn't come embarrassingly fast, and each time they make love, he lasts longer and longer. It's still difficult though, because when he watches her enjoying the intimacy, she looks so beautiful and sexy that he always feels himself about to lose control.

"Yes…Ichigo!" Rukia calls out, and that proves to be his undoing…if she had just kept quiet, he's sure he could keep going, but no…

"Rukia…" Ichigo lets out a loud groan and lets his elbows rest on the bed, on either side of Rukia as he spills into her. Rukia throws her arms around his neck and pulls her face up to his.

"It was perfect!" Rukia mutters into his ear, as she rubs her cheek hard against his.

Ichigo shivers, as a chill runs up his spine, after experiencing such pleasure with her.

They climb fully into bed and cuddle. Neither one of them say anything, they just cling to each other, feeling all the love in the world, radiating from their hearts.

Finally, they pull away, to reluctantly cover themselves in clothing. Rukia gives Ichigo a long kiss, and she whispers in his ear.

"I love you." Rukia whispers, and Ichigo kisses her again.

"I love you too…" Ichigo whispers back.

Rukia leaves his room, to go lay down in her own bed. She'll wait, until the girls and Isshin are in bed, and then she'll head back into Ichigo's room.

Every night they do this, and he stays awake until she comes back. Neither one of them fall asleep, until they're back in each other's arms with the silence and darkness of the night upon them. Only hollow alerts, disturb the time they spend in each other's arms, and neither one of them would have it any other way.

When Ichigo sees his door open, he smiles, as Rukia tiptoes over to the bed.

"Finally." Ichigo whispers, and Rukia smiles.

"Your sisters only fell asleep a little while ago. I have to wait to make sure they don't catch on to what we do every night." Rukia whispers back, and they share a long, lingering kiss.

"Let's call it a night," Ichigo says, as he pulls her close. They close their eyes and smile in happiness from the shared closeness.

_Now that she's back with me, I can fall asleep._


	41. As Requested: Immortal Isshin 5

**A/N-I had a request to see Ichigo & Rukia with kids in SS as Captain and Lieutenant, so I figured the best way to grant that request was to continue Immortal Isshin! This is dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Immortal Isshin 5_

Ichigo loves having five kids who are four years old. They all beg to be allowed to come to work with their parents everyday, and most of the time, their parents relent. Today is no exception. All three boys are at work, while the girls are at the manor with their grandmother.

Ichigo has Takeshi on his lap, as he signs paperwork, while Kaori and Nariaki are on either side of their mother, asking her a million questions about hell butterflies. Takeshi's hair is the exact same shade as Ichigo's hair, and his eyes are exactly like his father's.

Takeshi is the only son of his, that is a daddy's boy. Ichigo is sure it's because they look so similar, that his son likes hanging around him so much, as he does his best to emulate his father perfectly. He already has Ichigo's trademark scowl down pat, and he imitates his father's rough style of speech at times, as well.

Both Kaori and Nariaki are complete momma's boys. They cling to her most of the time, and remind Ichigo quite a bit of himself, when he was a young child.

The girls love everyone equally, at least it seems that way. There are days they cling to their father, and are complete daddy's girls, and then there are days they won't leave their mother alone. They also like to be around their grandparents a lot.

Isshin visits more frequently than not, since he loves his wife, and adores his grandchildren. The kids all love their crazy grandfather, and they adore their grandmother like a second mother. With his mother living with them, raising five kids has been a lot easier than Ichigo would have ever anticipated. His mother really helped to make everything very manageable.

"You mustn't ever crush a hell butterfly!" Rukia's voice suddenly raises, quickly catching Ichigo and Takeshi's attention.

"Did one of them do that?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia's eyes show her worry.

"Now we won't get the message!" Rukia says worriedly. Kaori and Nariaki both start to get teary, at their mother's obvious agitation.

"Oh well, we'll find out what we missed later," Ichigo says, fairly unconcerned.

"What if it's an emergency meeting of some sort? Should I have one of the unseated members go and request that the message be resent?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo immediately nods his head.

"We may as well act as though we've made an effort to hear the message. I'm not really worried about it, though." Ichigo says, and Rukia jumps up to run outside and give the order.

"I'm sorry, mommy!" Kaori says, and Nariaki nods his head.

"Me too!" Nariaki pipes up, and Rukia squats down to hug her boys.

"I forgive you, but cannot do that anymore!" Rukia says sternly, as she pulls away. The boys both nod immediately.

"I won't do it either!" Takeshi promises his dad, and Ichigo grins at him.

"Are you kids hungry?" Ichigo asks, and Takeshi immediately nods. Ichigo isn't surprised, their kids have monstrous appetites.

"Have you noticed how much stronger their reiatsu has gotten in the past year?" Rukia asks Ichigo, and he nods his head. Rukia unpacks some snacks, and brings some over to Ichigo and Takeshi before sitting back down with Kaori and Nariaki.

Kukiko had shocked the entire family a few days ago, when they went on an outing to Rukongai. She had run off, and gotten separated from her parents, only to find herself surrounded by some young boys, who had no manners, and no home. They thought it would be fun to beat up the well dressed little girl.

When Ichigo and Rukia frantically traced her reiatsu to her location, they found four scruffy boys bound by a level one binding spell. Their four year old daughter, successfully paralyzed all four boys, and held her spell in place, until her parents found her.

Rukia had taught the kids that spell when they were all three…just in case they ever had need to use it. She had never been assaulted as a child, because she had learned at a very young age how to put her reiatsu into her fighting abilities. She had however met other children who had been assaulted, when she had lived in Rukongai, and knowing that had motivated her to give her kids a bit of leverage.

When the kids under the spell saw the man in the Captain's cloak pick up the girl who had bound them, they had become very terrified, as Kukiko quickly explained why she had used her kidou on them.

Rukia had asked Ichigo to leave her alone with the boys, and Ichigo had obliged her, and taken the kids into a shop.

Rukia had patiently explained to the boys that they should not bully other children. She had also told them where she had grown up. After gaining a heartfelt apology from the kids, she pulled some candy out of her purse, and handed it to them. She made them promise that if they ever saw her kids again that they wouldn't try to hurt any of them.

She took a look at their shoeless feet, and she pulled some money out of her purse. She gave them enough money for new clothes and shoes, before she went to locate her family.

She didn't share with her husband and children what she had done, nor did she feel bad for helping kids who had been heading down the wrong path.

"After what Kukiko managed, it would be difficult not to notice." Ichigo says, and Rukia nods.

"I wonder what kind of power they'll have when they're grown up…" Rukia mutters, and Ichigo smiles.

"We'll just have to make sure we keep up with them." Ichigo says, and Takeshi grins at him, as he'd been paying close attention to their conversation.

"I'll always fight on your side, I want to be third seat of your division!" Takeshi declares, and Ichigo smiles.

"Aren't you going to become a captain like your old dad?" Ichigo asks, and Takeshi shakes his head no.

"I want to be in the family division." Takeshi says, sounding mature beyond his years. His mind is definitely beyond that of his brothers. His daughters are both the same way. Very intelligent and well spoken young children.

"You'll always be my fierce warrior!" Ichigo says as he hugs his son. Takeshi giggles, and smiles hugely.

"Grandpa said I should see your bankai." Takeshi tells his father shyly, and Ichigo frowns at that thought. What if his reiatsu sent Takeshi flying into harms way somehow?

"You should give the kids a demonstration. They're old enough to see it." Rukia says, in sudden agreement, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"What if one of the kids goes flying away from my reiatsu?" Ichigo asks, voicing his fears out loud.

"We'll have Captain Zaraki join us, along with your father and mother. Between the four of us, we can keep the kids from being tossed by your reiatsu." Rukia says logically.

Their conversation is interrupted by a knock on the door. Rukia quickly pulls her sons over to Ichigo.

"Kaori, Nariaki, stay put." Ichigo mutters, as he uses a free hand to grab hold of their clothing, to keep them from following their mother to the door.

The boys want no part of Ichigo's orders, they both start struggling fiercely to get back to their mother's side.

When Rukia opens the door, her eyes widen in complete shock. She cannot believe her eyes.

When Sado steps into the doorway, Ichigo immediately lets go of his sons, and his eyes widen.

"Sado! You…died?" Ichigo asks softly, and Sado nods his head yes.

"You didn't get the message?!" Sado asks with wide eyes, and Rukia glances at Ichigo.

_So that's what the hell butterfly was here to report…_

"How did it happen?" Rukia asks, and Sado chuckles nervously, and scratches his head.

"I got involved with a married woman…but I didn't know she was married, she never wore her ring in front of me! Her husband found out, and either he had an illegal gun, or he went out and got one, because I ended up with a bullet in the head." Sado says and then he realizes that he's looking at Ichigo's children, and they're adorable.

"That's awful!" Rukia says, and Sado kneels down to get a closer look at the boys who are attached to Rukia's legs.

"It's alright…I'm actually glad to be here. I plan on going to the academy and then joining your division, so if you could put in a request to have me-" Sado starts to say, but Ichigo cuts him off.

"I don't need to be told, that was my plan long before you ever even died. Did you know that Rukia and I had quintuplets?" Ichigo asks, as he stands with Takeshi in his grasp.

"Your father told me…these are the boys?" Sado asks, and Ichigo nods with a big smile.

"Those two clinging to their mother like she's their air are Kaori and Nariaki. This guy here, is my fierce little warrior, Takeshi." Ichigo says proudly.

Sado grins, as the boys with Rukia both bury their faces in their mother's robes, since they feel incredibly shy around this humongous man.

Ichigo approaches closer, and Sado stands to get a look at Ichigo's youngest child, Takeshi.

"Takeshi, eh? He looks just like you." Sado says with a smile, and Ichigo grins wider. Takeshi can tell that this man is a good person and so he offers Sado the same large smile that his father is currently sporting.

"Everyone says that." Ichigo says proudly, and Sado is speechless at the resemblance.

"We should all hope that he ends up with a completely different zanpakutou, or else you'll look like twins when he grows up." Sado says, with amazement.

"Sado, do you want to hold him?" Ichigo asks, and Sado's eyes widen.

"Really?" Sado asks, and Ichigo looks at his son.

"This is my best friend after your mom." Ichigo tells his son, as he hands him over.

Sado and Takeshi contemplate one another, and Sado feels amazed that Ichigo and Rukia were able to make such a perfect carbon copy of Ichigo. Rukia watches and smiles hugely, after Ichigo's comment about her being his best friend. She reaches out to run her hands through the dark hair of the boys at her side.

"Sado, you should come to the manor for dinner tonight, and meet the girls." Rukia says, "Ichigo can give his bankai demonstration to the kids then too. We should invite Kenpachi and Yachiru, too." Rukia says, and Ichigo rolls his eyes.

"Yeah! I want to see Dad's bankai!" Takeshi cheers, and Sado grins at the child's exuberance.

"Your kids are too cute…" Sado says, as he suddenly wishes he had children of his own.

"You're huge." Takeshi informs Sado. All of the adults in the room laugh at Takeshi's observation, which leaves Takeshi feeling confused, and just a bit stupid.

_After Dinner…_

"Make sure you hang onto the kids!" Ichigo orders everyone, as he looks around in concern, to make sure all of his kids are properly anchored.

"This is fun! I want to see Icchy's bankai!" Yachiru squeals, and Kenpachi scoffs, even though it is a nice family get together.

"Ichigo…we didn't have to go this far…" Rukia mutters, as all of the kids have a rope tied to their waist, which is attached to one of the adults.

"It's my way or no show." Ichigo says stubbornly. Takeshi and his sisters look incredibly excited, while Kaori and Nariaki look confused, and nervous. They don't really like the ropes…

"Come on Daddy! You can do it!" Kukiko cheers, and Takara joins her sister in the cheering.

"Bankai! Bankai! Do your best!" Takara shouts, and Ichigo can't help but to smile at his silly daughters.

"Alright! Pipe down!" Ichigo shouts.

"He's going to do it!" Takeshi says excitedly, and he can't take his eyes off of his father.

Ichigo gathers reiatsu, and his kids are all enthralled, as they watch the great pressure build up around their father.

"Wow!" Kukiko breathes, as she stares avidly at the scene.

"Bankai!" Ichigo calls out, and all of the kids watch as their father's eyes turn bright blue, and he points his zanpakutou forward as the ribbon flies around his arm. "…Tensa Zangetsu." Ichigo chants, and his kids all wait for the dust to settle so that they can get a good look.

"You look so cool!" Takeshi shouts, as he admires his father's cape.

"Your zanpakutou is small!" Kukiko calls out, and Ichigo scowls at that.

"Your father doesn't like anything about himself to be considered small." Rukia murmurs, causing Sado to choke on his laughter.

Ichigo begins to move at the speed his bankai allows him to, and his kids eyes all widen as it appears like there are dozens of their dad, moving around in front of him. When Ichigo finally stops, Takeshi yanks the rope off, and runs for his father. Ichigo's eyes widen that his son is not affected by the great reiatsu that he's currently exuding.

Takeshi throws himself into his father's arms, and moments later, all of his kids are around him, hugging him, and cheering. Ichigo smiles absurdly, as Takeshi grabs his face and gives his father a wide eyed look of wonder.

"You're so cool, I want to be just like you!" Takeshi says, and Isshin wipes away a tear.

"Ichigo's never said that to me." Isshin mutters, and Ichigo turns his head.

"Who'd want to be like you?" Ichigo asks, and Masaki giggles. Ichigo hadn't even missed a beat. Masaki hugs Isshin.

"I have the coolest dad in the world!" Kukiko exclaims as she hugs Takara.

"Me too!" Takara exclaims. Rukia smiles, as Ichigo is the hit of the family, for the night.

"I want a bankai just like yours!" Takeshi says, as he presses his forehead against his father's forehead, and smiles. Ichigo feels a bit emotional at the moment, and when his son pulls back, Ichigo looks at Rukia, with his eyes shining.

_Rukia gave me all of this_…

"Come here, Squirt." Ichigo says to Rukia, and he pulls her over to hug her.

_My bankai…my happiness…and these wondrous kids wouldn't be possible without you._

"I love you, Rukia." Ichigo whispers, and Rukia grins as she grabs her husband's face and kisses him in front of everyone.

"I love you too." Rukia whispers happily.

_We've made such beautiful children, I love you, and I love them._


	42. As Requested: You'd Fight Me?

**A/N- I had a request, awhile ago, to do a chapter that went into Rukia's feelings when Ichigo decided he wouldn't hand over Senna to Soul Society, in the movie Memories of Nobody. This chapter is dedicated to the person that requested it, I hope you enjoy it!**

**If you've seen the movie, then you should know that this is supposed to be an extra added scene, that goes into the details of their feelings over Ichigo protecting Senna. **

**This is supposed to take place as the Shinigami confront Ichigo, and he announces he won't hand Senna over to them. When the story ends, it would simply go back to where the movie had the enemy attack.**

**It was kind of difficult to do this one, because I have never taken the movie very seriously, and when you watch, Rukia never pulls her blade on Ichigo, she just looks surprised at his behavior. **

_You'd Fight Me? _

Ichigo uses his license to pop himself out of his body, after proclaiming that he won't hand Senna over, since she experiences fear, pain, and happiness like everyone else.

"It isn't up for debate." Renji yells, and Ichigo holds Zangetsu defensively.

"You aren't allowed to just scare people, and imprison them for no reason!" Ichigo shouts.

Rukia had felt at first like she was drained of energy, when Ichigo defended Senna, but slowly, her anger starts to build. How dare he look in her direction as though she's the enemy?!

"We have very good reason, Ichigo-kun." Ukitake says, as he can sense his subordinate's fury quickly growing.

"I knew I should have come here ahead of everyone else." Rukia mutters. "Captain!" Rukia calls out, and Ukitake can tell Rukia has lost all patience with Ichigo.

"Yes, Kuchiki?" Ukitake says, even though he already knows what her request will be.

"Permission to subdue Kurosaki Ichigo, or to die trying." Rukia says loudly enough for Ichigo to hear her. Ichigo's eyes widen, at that.

_She'd actually go against me for real? _

"What are you doing, Rukia!?" Ichigo asks in a shout, feeling quite hurt and betrayed.

"Returning the favor!" Rukia yells back, as her eyes flash angrily. "You dare to hold your zanpakutou up defensively when even I stand on this side?!" Rukia is inconsolable.

Ichigo's eyes widen, when he realizes that he did in fact hold Zangetsu as though he'd take her on, too.

"Ichigo!" Senna gasps, but Ichigo can't even hear Senna, because Rukia's eyes are looking just a tad bit crazed.

"Rukia!" Ichigo tries to communicate with his eyes, but she isn't having any of it right now.

"Permission, granted." Ukitake says, even though he doesn't know what will happen.

"Thank you, captain." Rukia says, and she steps in front of all of the other Shinigami.

"Don't! Rukia!" Ichigo says, but her eyes are narrowed at him. She looks angry enough to kill, that's for certain.

"I cannot forgive you turning your blade, when I stand opposite of you. Let us fight to the death, then...Ichigo.." Rukia says, even though her voice shakes. Ichigo begins shaking his head at her.

"No...anybody but you. I could never kill you." Ichigo says in a desperate voice, even as Senna holds onto his back.

He can feel Senna shaking behind him.

"Then I guess you shouldn't have made the threat with your blade. I will only stand down, and walk away from this fight, if she is handed over." Rukia says in a hard, unforgiving voice.

"Rukia! I can't just hand her over." Ichigo says, in an aching voice. "Her situation is so much like yours used to be, don't you see that? Nobody should have to be on their own, facing Soul Society!" Ichigo says, trying to sway her.

"Dance! Sode No Shirayuki!" Rukia says it clearly, and she is completely focused on the man she loves, standing in front of her.

"Stop...Rukia, please stop!" Ichigo begs her, even as he realizes, he just can't swing his blade against her.

Not even for Senna. Everyone watches, holding their breath, as Rukia faces Ichigo, with all of her anger showing quite clearly.

"Hand her over." Rukia demands in a soft voice. Ichigo gulps, as he shakes his head no.

"Rukia…you're supposed to be fighting with me, not against me." Ichigo tells her in a low voice. "You should understand my position, and back me up." Ichigo says, causing Rukia to growl in frustration.

"A fool who doesn't know what he's talking about has no right whatsoever to ask me to switch positions! I'm thinking of you, your sisters, our friends, every living creature in the world! That girl behind you is the key to the mystery! She is obviously the target of the enemies, and when you look at the facts, you can only come to one conclusion! She is the Memory Rosary! We must take her for her own protection as well as for the good of the rest of the world!" Rukia's voice sounds extremely annoyed.

"Rukia!" Ichigo gasps, as he can tell that she isn't even hearing a word he's saying right now, but her next words…shake him to the core. They're so quiet that he has to slowly lean forward to catch her full statement.

"I thought I was the only one you'd take on all of Soul Society for. Now that you've crushed that dream, I think I'm ready to let go…" Rukia's voice is a bare whisper.

Ichigo's eyes widen. He's ready to reach out for her, but her eyes darken and she holds Sode No Shirayuki up, causing him to back up, with Senna behind him. Rukia dashes forward and swings. Ichigo ducks and watches as orange hairs go flying to the ground. He felt had been able to feel the air hit his head as she swung…she'd been terribly close to cutting him.

"No! What in the hell are you talking about!? Jeez Rukia! You're the one who taught me to defend all of the weak! You're the only one I love, you should already know that no matter how my zanpakutou is pointed, I could never cut you!" Ichigo hisses.

Ichigo's words make her arms feel so heavy, that she sags against him…it's at this moment that the enemy chooses to attack…

"I'm sorry…Ichigo." Rukia says as he jumps up into the air with Senna clinging to his back, and Rukia in his arms, to avoid the enemy attack.

"Just for future reference…my blade is never pointed at you…so don't go all psycho bitch on me anymore. I don't want to have to tell my friends that I'm in love with a psycho." Ichigo says in her ear.

"You drive me to madness…" Rukia mutters, as she regains her composure.

_And yet I somehow feel better…_


	43. As Requested: Bijuaru Kyouki

**A/N-I had a request to continue from Chapter 38 to show Ichigo and Rukia at Byakuya's party, as a married couple, without having to worry about their kids. It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Bijuaru Kyouki_

Ichigo looks at Rukia who is in a beautiful purple and white kimono, which makes her eyes look even bluer than usual. The party started a few hours ago, and Ichigo is noticing how it's slowly getting to be more and more relaxed as the guests get more and more intoxicated.

"I'm so happy the two of you are here for this! How are you enjoying being parents?" Ukitake asks, as he comes up from behind them.

"It's tough, but rewarding," Rukia says, and Ukitake laughs.

"I heard what Mika did to Byakuya…I couldn't stop laughing for a few minutes when I heard she swore right at him…that's definitely Ichigo-kun's daughter!" Ukitake says, and Rukia's eyes widen at her captain.

"Captain Ukitake…are you drunk?" Rukia asks. "The party is still young, you know." Rukia adds, and Ukitake chuckles.

"I can handle my liquor. Once a century I push myself to my limits…it's my way of celebrating surviving yet another century!" Ukitake declares, before he runs off to find Shunsui.

"Jeez, he's completely blitzed." Ichigo says in wonder, as he watches Ukitake stumble, as he runs off.

"I've never seen him like that before…" Rukia mutters, wide eyed.

"Hey you two, you should be having more fun! Take these, then you won't be able to wait until the next celebration!" Rangiku says as she holds out some pills to the two of them.

"What in the hell are these?" Ichigo asks suspiciously, as he eyes the heart embedded in the pill.

"Shhhh! These are extremely difficult to get your hands on! I don't have too much difficulty because of the twins," Rangiku says, as she motions towards her breasts. "Believe me, you won't regret it if you take them." Rangiku says with a wink.

"These aren't…" Rukia says wide eyed, and Rangiku gives her a peace sign.

"They are, Kurosaki-san!" Rangiku says to Rukia.

Ichigo watches wide eyed as Rukia immediately pops her pill, with no further argument.

"What are you doing Ichigo? Take it! It's not often that we'll get to have an experience like this!" Rukia says, smiling.

"Um…what exactly do they do?" Ichigo asks, and Rangiku smiles.

"They do three things. First they keep you awake for a full day, they also give you hallucinations, and they also make you horny as hell!" Rangiku says with a grin.

"That doesn't sound safe…" Ichigo says with narrowed eyes.

"Wrong again, they're very good for the spiritual body. The pill removes all stress, which helps the soul stay cleansed, and looking young! If you worry too much, you'll age more quickly!" Rangiku says, and Ichigo gives Rukia a doubtful look.

"I'm already horny…" Ichigo says, and Rukia winks at him.

"You're always horny. Just take it, they're legal, and it's a party." Rukia orders him, and Ichigo pops the pill.

"So why are they so hard to get a hold of, if they're so good?" Ichigo asks, and Rangiku sighs.

"Not only are they expensive, they take a long time to produce. The family who makes them won't share their secret, so a limited amount of pills are produced a year, and no matter who you are, you can't buy more than ten pills at a time, every twenty-five years. They're a precious commodity, here in Soul Society!" Rangiku explains.

"Thank you for giving us each one, that was really generous of you!" Rukia exclaims, and Rangiku grins at her.

"I've got plenty to last me. I made a few deals with some poorer people and gave them money to buy me the pills in exchange for more money and one of the pills!" Rangiku says happily.

"Still, I know how expensive they are…" Rukia says, and Rangiku giggles.

"I make quite a bit of money as a lieutenant. But if I ever need a loan, I'll make sure I talk to the two of you!" Rangiku teases.

"Does your brother eat these pills?" Ichigo asks curiously, and Rukia shrugs. Rangiku shakes her head no.

"He only had a pill once, when his wife was living. They took the pills together. You pretty much have to have someone in mind to have sex with, if you're taking these." Rangiku explains, and Ichigo blushes.

"So who's the lucky guy?" Ichigo asks, and Rangiku smiles.

"It's a secret!" Rangiku sings, and then she runs off.

"You two took her pills, didn't you?" Renji asks as he walks up behind them.

"Why is everybody walking up from behind us?" Ichigo mutters, and Rukia laughs.

"Yeah, we took them." Rukia admits, and Renji laughs.

"Wait till the show!" Renji says, and this causes the couple to look confused.

"The show?" Rukia echoes, and Renji nods his head yes, and grins at both of them.

"The Shinigami who aren't using the pill, always put on shows with their zanpakutous and kidou, for the visual effects that it gives to those who are on the pills." Renji explains, and Rukia looks shocked.

"How do you know about all of this, Renji?" Rukia asks, and Renji grins.

"Captain Kuchiki told me. I'll be the first one performing in the show." Renji admits, and Rukia smiles at her friend.

"This is my first time taking one of these, and I've heard such wonderful things about them. I've heard it only takes a few minutes to start working, too." Rukia says, and Renji nods.

"I took one once." Renji admits with a blush. Ichigo looks relieved.

"Really?!" Rukia squeals, and Renji nods.

"Kira gave them to me and Hinamori…" Renji says with a blush, before he walks away, causing the couple to gawk.

"Oi, Rukia! Does that mean Renji has banged Hinamori, or that he's banged Kira?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia turns red.

"I have no idea…and I really don't want to know." Rukia says, with a disgusted look on her face.

"Maybe they had a threesome." Ichigo says, and Rukia cringes at the thought of it.

"Quit talking like that." Rukia orders him, and Ichigo gives her a lopsided grin.

"Icchy!" Yachiru says, surprising the couple, and forcing them to look down. Yachiru is waving at them, and Ichigo quickly checks to make sure Kenpachi is nowhere in sight.

"Hello, Yachiru, are you having fun?" Ichigo asks, and she smiles hugely at him.

"I've been stuffing myself with food, to help me grow taller! I've had a ton of sake too!" Yachiru announces with a huge smile, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"Aren't there any age stipulations on drinking here?" Ichigo asks, and Yachiru grins at him.

"Not really. If you're old enough to put it to your lips, you're old enough to drink it!" Yachiru announces, and Rukia grins.

"It's because we age differently in Soul Society versus the living world. Sake won't harm a younger soul, like it can in the living world," Rukia explains, and Ichigo just nods his head in disbelief.

"Let me borrow your shoulder!" Yachiru says, and she hops up onto Ichigo's shoulder, without waiting for permission.

"Hey, you brat!" Ichigo growls, but Yachiru starts to laugh excitedly.

"They're bringing out more food! See you later!" Yachiru says as she disappears, and Rukia grabs Ichigo's hand.

"Hey Ichigo, are you feeling it yet?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo begins to nod.

"Your eyes look bluer than usual." Ichigo says, as he stares at her. Rukia blushes.

"Your hair looks brighter than usual too," Rukia says, with a giggle.

"You love my hair." Ichigo says arrogantly, and Rukia nods as she stares up at his bright colored hair.

"You're right…I do." Rukia says, and Ichigo lets go of her hand to put his arm around her.

"The show is about to start!" Kiyone's voice is loud enough that everyone who is lucky enough to be on one of the special pills wants to hurry outside, where the show will be held.

Once outside, Ichigo tightens his arm around Rukia and then hops up onto the roof of the Kuchiki mansion to give them a good view.

Renji is the first performer for the crowd, and his shikai ends up being an instant hit with all of the partygoers who are on the special pill.

"Rukia, what is the name of that pill that we ate?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia smiles.

"Bijuaru Kyouki." Rukia answers, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"What a name!" Ichigo says, amazed as Renji's shikai is giving him some insane visuals.

"Renji is pretty good!" Rukia exclaims with an impressed smile.

When Renji finishes, Hinamori comes next and uses her zanpakutou to wow the crowd, and then she starts doing high level kidou spells at the faux target that is set up in the air, which has everyone saying 'ooh,' and 'ah!'

The show lasts several hours, and as the finale, Byakuya appears for the crowd, and he really does put on the best show, using his shikai, bankai, and kidou to make sure all of the people on Bijuaru Kyouki get the maximum enjoyment that can possibly be had.

"We should find somewhere where I can get you naked and pregnant." Ichigo says, as he looks at his wife lustily.

"Sounds like fun," Rukia says with a wink, and they start running through the halls of the Kuchiki mansion, to find a place where they can get busy.

They stop short, when they hear Rangiku-san getting it on in the room they're walking past.

"Oh yeah, you have such a long one!" She shouts, and then they both flinch when they hear Ikkaku reply to her.

"That's right baby, It's long just like my zanpakutou!" He shouts, and this causes the horny couple to hurry away before they lose their own desire to make it.

"Come on, Ichigo…we should go to my old room!" Rukia says suddenly, and Ichigo scowls.

"Why didn't you think of that sooner?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia winks at him.

"We can take a bath together and then we can have a long session of foreplay and then you can get me pregnant like you promised!" Rukia says with a big sexy smile, and Ichigo loses his scowl. He grabs her up in his arms.

"Tell me the way, I'll get us there faster!" Ichigo says breathlessly.

Rukia giggles and directs her husband, and when they reach her room, they're relieved to find it empty.

"Now for the barrier!" Rukia says with a grin, and she puts a barrier on the door.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Ichigo says with an approving nod. "I don't want to be interrupted!" Ichigo grins, and Rukia laughs.

"Wash me, Ichigo!" Rukia orders him, and they run into the bathroom together.

"Tonight Rukia, anything goes. Anything you want me to do to you, I'll do without question." Ichigo promises her, and Rukia smiles.

"Oh tonight is going to be awesome!" Rukia exclaims, as she turns on the hot water and looks at Ichigo with a smile. "Get naked, now!" Rukia orders, and Ichigo smiles.

_My hot little wife never fails to bore me._

**A/N-Bijuaru Kyouki translated is Visual Ecstasy**


	44. As Requested: Deserved

**A/N-I had a request to do this, where Toushirou finds Rangiku in the binding spell that Rukia put on her and Oomaeda, in Rukia's Revenge, chapter 34. It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Deserved_

"Matsumoto!" Rangiku looks quite terrified, as she hears her captain's voice closing in on her.

"Shit!" Rangiku cries, and she begins to struggle against the bindings. Oomaeda moans in happiness, as her breasts move against his body in a way that makes him immediately not care that her captain is about to find them.

When Toushirou steps into the clearing, a few veins pop out of his forehead.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Toushirou asks, in a voice that shows he's lost his temper.

"Can you help me out of this, please Captain Hitsugaya?!" Rangiku begs, and Toushirou crosses his arms, stubbornly.

"Tell me who did this to you, first." Toushirou demands loudly, and Rangiku laughs nervously.

"Please Captain! Don't make me stay attached to this pervert one more moment!" Rangiku begs, and Toushirou rolls his eyes.

"If you had been working in our office, like you were supposed to be doing, I doubt this would have happened to you. Tell me, or I won't help you." Toushirou tells her.

Matsumoto closes her eyes in shame and surrender.

"Kuchiki Rukia did this." Rangiku admits, and Toushirou quickly gets her out of the binding.

"Your breath smells like sake." Toushirou informs her icily, and Rangiku chuckles nervously.

"I don't know why…" Rangiku lies, and Toushirou growls.

"Get back to the office, and get to work…now!" Toushirou shouts at her, and Rangiku moves, on the double.

Within minutes, Toushirou is getting his seal, to lower his reiatsu, for a trip to the living world.

When Hitsugaya runs into the living world, the first thing he sees, is Inoue Orihime bound to a young kid who's too happy to be rubbing his face all over Inoue's breasts, which are nearly fully exposed to do his mouth and teeth moving her bra and blouse out of the way.

Inoue gasps loudly, when she sees Captain Hitsugaya, and when she does that, Keigo begins to suck on her nipple, which makes her squawk in shock.

"Would you mind helping me out here?" Inoue asks Toushirou, and he begins to look severely aggravated. Keigo realizes someone has shown up, so he begins to suck on her more desperately.

"Let me guess…Kuchiki Rukia did this to you?" Hitsugaya asks, and Inoue chuckles nervously.

"You figured it out…" Inoue mumbles, and within two seconds, she's unbound from Keigo.

She shoves him off of her, for not leaving her boobs alone no matter how much she had pleaded for him to stop.

"Do you mind telling me why you and my lieutenant were both bound to…other people?" Hitsugaya asks, as Keigo goes running off to tell anyone who will listen, about his sexy encounter with Inoue Orihime.

"I'm not really sure why she would do that to Rangiku-san, but I know why she did it to me…I was going to let Kon take me out while he was in Kurosaki-kun's body." Inoue admits, as her face turns red in embarrassment. That wasn't exactly true...she is pretty sure that Kon had something far more intimate in mind than just taking her out.

"I see…" Toushirou says, before he takes off for the Kurosaki residence, using his shunpo.

_In Ichigo's Bedroom…_

"Come here!" Ichigo growls playfully at Rukia, under the covers, as he struggles to get her dress off.

"Ah! Ichigo!" Rukia squeals, with a loud giggle, as he tickles her accidentally under her arms.

"Don't be so loud!" Ichigo mutters as he struggles with her dress under the covers.

Just as Ichigo is about to lift it over her head, they feel a very strong reiatsu, quite close, and they stop their playing to pull the covers off, and look outside. Rukia smoothes her dress out, and the moment she finishes, Toushirou appears in Ichigo's window.

"Captain Hitsugaya!" Rukia exclaims, with wide eyes.

Ichigo looks back and forth between Rukia and Toushirou, wondering why in the hell the midget captain came to interrupt their fun.

"Kuchiki, I'm here to find out why you bound my lieutenant to the Second Division Lieutenant." Toushirou says with crossed arms, and narrowed eyes.

Rukia gets angry being reminded of why she had to go such lengths, and her eyes flash as she answers his question.

"Because she bound Ichigo to Inoue! Do you have any idea how upsetting that was for us?" Rukia asks angrily. Ichigo nods his head in agreement.

"It scarred me for the rest of my life." Ichigo mutters, and Toushirou purses his lips.

"She shouldn't have done that." Toushirou admits quietly, and Rukia glares at him.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Rukia snaps in a pissy voice, and Toushirou glares back at her.

"Don't forget that you're speaking to a captain." Toushirou tells her, and Ichigo steps in front of Rukia.

"Are you threatening Rukia? If you are, I'll kill you." Ichigo says in a low and dangerous sounding voice. Toushirou rolls his eyes.

"You'd have to get in line, behind Captain Kuchiki. I won't report this incident, simply because I know my lieutenant wouldn't want me to, and after hearing your reason, I think she deserved it." Toushirou says, and Ichigo nods.

Rukia loses some of her anger, upon hearing that her actions won't be reported. At least she won't get into trouble.

"Thank you, Captain Hitsugaya!" Rukia says, as he flies up into the air, and unlocks the gate leading back to Soul Society.

Ichigo turns and grins at Rukia.

"We were in the middle of something…" Ichigo reminds her, and they both dive back into bed.

Ichigo yanks her dress off before they climb under the covers, and within a minute, they're both naked in each other's arms.

_Back In Soul Society…_

When Toushirou walks into the Tenth Division headquarters, he looks like he has a severe migraine.

"Where have you been, Captain Hitsugaya?" Rangiku asks, nervously. She watches her captain, closely.

"I went to go see Kurosaki and Kuchiki, to find out why you were bound to Lieutenant Oomaeda." Toushirou responds in a tight voice, and Rangiku bites her lip.

"And?" Rangiku asks, and Toushirou gives her a glare of death. Rangiku starts to shake, at the anger showing in her captain's eyes.

"You deserved it. Don't speak to me for the rest of the day…just do your fucking work, for once!" Toushirou orders her angrily, and then he goes to find some headache medication.

Rangiku looks fairly upset, as her captain leaves the room.

"I suppose I did deserve it. Poor Orihime has been completely traumatized." Rangiku says, as she pulls a few pieces of her earned candy out to eat them.

_I shouldn't have allowed myself to be bribed, since even I know that Ichigo would only be happy if he were bound to Kuchiki Rukia. I got what I deserved._


	45. As Requested: Feminine Issues 2

_**A/N-This is done by request, it's a sequel to chapter 36, Feminine Issues. It's dedicated to the person that requested it, and I want to remind you IchiRuki fans to come to my forum, to put in your two cents about IchiRuki! There are lots of threads to choose from, and I'd love to see more of you there! You can get there by going to the forum link in my profile, there are a few polls that I'd love to see more voting in, too!**_

_**Please Enjoy!**_

_Feminine Issues 2_

Rukia sits cross legged, in Ichigo's room, on his floor, preparing a handmade card, just for him. He made everything about her period go much more smoothly than what it would have been, without his help.

It was strange, that they became a couple, in the way that they did, all because he was the world's biggest sweetheart, when she had been so damned miserable.

She realizes now that she should _not_ have announced the fact that she and Ichigo were a couple to his family. Isshin has been teasing them nonstop, about being in love, and making him a grandfather. Ichigo likes to smugly remind her that it was her who told his crackpot father, not himself.

Ichigo comes bursting into his room, right as she finishes up, and she jumps to her feet to smile at him.

"What are you still doing up here? We had plans today!" Ichigo says, even as he blushes.

This whole boyfriend and girlfriend business is still very new for him, and this is the first time they're going out, as a dating couple.

"This is for you!" Rukia says with a smile, as she thrusts the handmade card at him.

Ichigo gets a dubious look on his face, and it appears that he forces himself to hold back comments when he sees two bunnies hugging on the front of the card.

He flips it open, and his eyes nearly pop out, when three handmade coupons fly out at him.

"What is this?" Ichigo asks, and he turns bright red, as he reads the coupons.

"You were so wonderful when I was feeling crappy, that this is how I've decided to make it up to you. I saw it on an American television show, and I thought it would be the perfect way to reward you!" Rukia says, and Ichigo stares at the coupons.

_This coupon entitles the bearer, __**Kurosaki Ichigo**__, to one evening of intimacy in bed with __**Kuchiki Rukia**__, doing the kinds of things that boyfriends and girlfriends do in bed. It is __**only redeemable for Kurosaki Ichigo**__, and can be redeemed any time, so long as work doesn't get in the way._

"Rukia…I've never heard of anything like this…" Ichigo whispers, as his face stays bright red, and his hand begins to shake.

"I can't remember the name of the darn show! I keep wanting to say Nakama, but that's not it!" Rukia mutters, and she seems oblivious to Ichigo's embarrassment.

"What would happen if someone saw one of these? You wouldn't honor a coupon like this if it were faked with someone else's name on it, would you?" Ichigo asks worriedly, and Rukia grins at him.

"Only three coupons are in existence, so I can safely say that I'll be able to turn down counterfeit coupons, should they come my way." Rukia assures him with a smile. "If someone were stupid enough to fake one, he might walk away from me much less a man, than what he started out." Rukia says, with a gleam in her eyes, and Ichigo shivers at the vision her words invoke.

"Oh…well what if my dad sees them? Or one of my sisters?" Ichigo asks worriedly, and Rukia gives him a strange look.

"You just have to hide them in a good spot. They're pieces of paper, it shouldn't be that difficult." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo doesn't look very convinced.

_Or I can just use them all this week, and not have to worry about it anymore._

"You'll destroy them, once I've given them back to you, right?" Ichigo asks nervously, and Rukia smiles.

"Of course." Rukia assures him, and Ichigo gulps as he takes the coupons and looks around for a good place to hide them.

He folds them in half, grabs his framed photograph of Rukia that he put on his desk a few days ago, and he pulls off the back. He arranges the coupons in the back of the photograph, then he puts the frame back together, and sets it back down.

"Hopefully nobody will ever find them there." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia beams at him.

"It's a terrific spot! I'm ready for you to take me out now, Ichigo." Rukia says, with a happy smile, and Ichigo blushes as he nods back.

The past week, they've already done a bit of making out, but he hadn't been brave enough to try and go any further than up her shirt while making out, while she was having her feminine issues…he hadn't had the courage to ask her how she felt about deepened intimacy when she was like that, either.

She had informed him first thing this the morning, that it was over, and she had blushed when she'd admitted it. Now she's given him these coupons for a night of intimacy…Ichigo is anxious and nervous to do more with her, and the fact that she gave him that present, makes him think that she is also anxious to experience more with him.

Ichigo has a fun afternoon planned, he's taking her to go putt-putting, and then afterwards, they can go to the batting cages which are next door to where you putt-putting. Then he'll offer to get her an ice cream cone. He thinks it's perfect for a first date, and he hopes nothing goes wrong.

They head down the stairs, and Isshin is grinning like a wild maniac next to the front door. Ichigo does his best to avoid looking directly into his father's eyes, lest he antagonize the beast, but his ploy fails anyways.

"It's about time you took Rukia-chan out on a date! She deserves that, after all of the hanky panky that's been going on in your room, that you think I don't know about!" Isshin announces, and Rukia presses her lips together hard, to keep from laughing as Ichigo sputters angrily at his father.

"Nothing has been going on," Rukia lies, in her best schoolgirl voice. Ichigo's face turns red, and he clenches his fist.

"You don't know anything!" Ichigo says in a low angry voice, and Isshin laughs right in Ichigo's face.

"You think I don't know what young love is like? You don't even want to know how quickly I convinced your mother-" Isshin starts to say, but Ichigo silences him with an uppercut to the chin.

"Don't talk about Mom like that!" Ichigo shouts, and Rukia's eyes widen, as Isshin pops up like nothing happened. He grabs Ichigo into a headlock, and effectively wraps him up, so that he can't move.

"You wouldn't be here if I didn't get all hot and heavy with your mom! You should be grateful!" Isshin yells at his son.

Ichigo gets so angry that he stomps on his father's foot, and jams his elbow into his father's gut, setting himself free.

Ichigo grabs his father by his head, and knees him in the face, before grabbing Rukia's hand, and hurrying her out of the house.

"He's fucking insane…" Ichigo grumbles, as he pulls Rukia further and further away from his house.

A moment later, Isshin pops out the front door, waving his arms frantically at them.

"Have fun on your first date, Ichigo! Rukia! Don't do anything I wouldn't do, which means, anything goes!" Isshin screams, and Ichigo turns red, since plenty of their neighbors are outside…since it's a beautiful day.

"Fuck! I should have kneed him harder…" Ichigo mutters, and he tightens his grip on Rukia's hand.

Rukia stares down at their hands…even though they started dating six days ago, this is a first. They hadn't yet flaunted their relationship in public, only in private, and in front of his family. It hadn't been something they'd talked about, but neither one of them had wanted to be asked about their dating status, while they were getting used to it themselves.

Of course, if someone had been paying close attention, they may have noticed the little looks and smiles that the couple had begun to share, whenever they thought someone wasn't looking.

_It feels really nice to hold his hand. It feels so strong, and good in my own hand._

Rukia smiles, since she's already happy with their first real date.

_A Half Hour Later…_

"Not hard, Rukia! You're not supposed to hit the ball hard!" Ichigo says, with wide eyes, as Rukia brings the putter back as though she's about to drive the ball with her putter.

Rukia freezes with the putter back behind her head and shoulders, and looks at Ichigo questioningly.

"But this is what I saw them do on the television!" Rukia says with wide eyes, and Ichigo yanks the putter out of her hands.

"Holy shit you're scary…" Ichigo takes a few deep breaths, and pushes Rukia back.

"Hey!" Rukia says indignantly, but Ichigo just shakes his head at her.

"That was golf, not putt-putt! I'll demonstrate how you're supposed to do it! You only have to tap the ball a little bit, like this!" Ichigo says, as he demonstrates the proper way of putt-putting.

Rukia watches carefully, as Ichigo demonstrates how to do it, and she chuckles, when she realizes that he just brought the putter back a little ways, to tap the ball towards the hole.

By the time they make it to the final hole, Rukia is fairly fed up with the game, and she ends up throwing the putter down, which gets them yelled at by the working attendant.

Ichigo hurries to turn in their clubs, and then he takes her over to the batting cages.

Rukia picks the fast pitching cage, and to Ichigo's relief, she has it mastered on the first try. Not one ball gets by her, and she thwacks them all pretty far out.

They end up staying at the batting cages for several rounds, and a crowd actually builds up, to watch Rukia have such startling success in the batting cage against the fastest ball you can pay to hit at.

When they finally head over, to get some ice cream, Rukia is as happy as can be. Ichigo gets them both cones, of chocolate and vanilla swirled into one cone.

When they sit down to eat their ice cream, Rukia sits very close to Ichigo and they both feel very happy, with the way the date has gone, despite the catastrophe of the putt-putting part of it.

"I'll be giving you a coupon tonight…" Ichigo whispers, with a pink face, as he finishes his cone. Rukia blushes, but she smiles up at him.

"I'm glad…" Rukia tells him, and she knows, he's definitely earned it. After a long talk with Yoruichi, she's learned that not all girls get treated as kindly as she did by Ichigo, when she had her feminine issues.

_That Night…_

Ichigo pulls a coupon out, from the picture frame, while Rukia is in the shower. He knows she's expecting it, but he's still nervous as hell. He's already prepared himself by rubbing one out, while she was showering, in the hopes that it will take him longer to climax when he's with Rukia.

He is still worried, because when he had prepared himself, he'd simply imagined what he'd planned to do with her, and he'd been able to finish himself off, very quickly.

He's waiting for her, in a pair of blue sweatpants, and that's it. He has the lights off, and a few candles lit, to give them a romantic atmosphere, he can feel his hand shaking, as he clutches at her coupon.

It's weird, to have coupons, but it's also nice, because without saying a word, he knows that she's ready to be intimate. It had been a clever way of getting her feelings across, without having to voice them.

When Rukia walks into the room, she's wearing a short black silk robe, and she immediately heads for the closet, where she pulls out something Ichigo has never seen before. He watches curiously, as she puts one end around his door handle, and the other end pushes against the floor, perfect for making sure the door can't just be opened so easily.

She walks over to Ichigo and holds out her hand. He sets the coupon in her hand, then he watches as she holds onto it with one hand, and then uses kidou to obliterate it with her other hand. Ichigo's eyes widen, and he gulps loudly as she unties her robe, and lets it fall to the floor.

_Oh my god…_

"Now for you…" Rukia whispers, and she quickly slides down his pants.

She's had yet to see it, even though she's felt it, and she's able to keep a poker face on, as she sees him completely exposed for the first time. Ichigo watches her very closely, and her eyes travel upwards, over his muscular abdomen and chest, and then to his face.

Ichigo sits in bed and then scoots over so that she can get into bed with him.

"Damn Rukia…" Ichigo whispers achingly, once she's in his bed next to him.

His hand starts to trail up and down her body, as he explores her skin with much more intent than he has in the past week.

He doesn't want to rush into it, but his preparations will go to waste, if he takes way too long to get things going, so he doesn't waste any time, he begins to kiss her passionately, as he runs his hands lightly, over her body, making sure he covers all of her torso, in doing so.

Rukia can feel her body tingling with excitement as his hands touch her in places that no other man has ever touched her, and in ways that she's never even touched herself. She hears him take a long shaky breath, right before his hand goes down and starts touching the place that he's never touched before.

Rukia sucks in a quick breath, since she had no idea she could be _that_ sensitive, down there. Ichigo begins to lick at her nipples, as he gently runs his finger all around her clit, making her arch her back a bit from the intensity of it.

_I've never felt like this before!_

Rukia feels like her mind is becoming a jumbled mess, and it only gets worse, when Ichigo replaces his finger with his tongue. Rukia about has a heart attack when she feels his warm wet tongue, press against her most intimate place. She gasps loudly, and her body starts to jolt, in reaction to him.

Ichigo can tell, as he's moving his tongue around, that she's getting really hot and bothered by his actions, and that she's definitely ready for him. He pulls his head away, and intends to climb on top of her, but she quickly sits up and throws herself into his arms, which he didn't expect…so he ends up on his back.

"It's not fair, that you can do that to me…I want you to feel like that too…" Rukia whispers, and Ichigo's eyes widen as she quickly scoots herself to be in position to return the favor.

The moment Rukia's mouth, closes around him, and he hears a noise come out of his mouth that doesn't sound manly at all.

_Damn it feels good! I'm about to explode!_

"Rukia!" Ichigo groans, and then he pulls her away from what she's doing, since he doesn't want to end it with him finishing in her mouth…he wants to make love to her.

"Ichigo? I wanted to make you feel good." Rukia whispers, and Ichigo closes his eyes a second, to get some control over himself.

"You did…if you kept that up I would have embarrassed myself…" Ichigo mutters, and he opens his eyes back up to look at her. Her big blue eyes are easy for him to see, in the candlelight.

"Really?" Rukia asks, a bit disbelievingly. Ichigo shivers and nods his head yes.

He quickly gets her laying back down on the bed, and he uses his fingers to make sure she's still as ready as she was when he was licking her, and she is.

"I want you so bad…" Ichigo whispers, and Rukia smiles, since his voice sounds incredibly intense.

Rukia's eyes widen as Ichigo positions himself over her, and then she feels it when his arousal touches her within her folds for the very first time, and Ichigo is watching her face carefully, so Rukia closes her eyes, and blushes, since she's suddenly nervous.

She's heard that it would hurt the first time, and so she prepares herself for the pain, and when Ichigo pushes past her barrier, she feels it, though it's not as bad as she imagined it might be.

"Ichigo…" Rukia murmurs, and Ichigo's entire body is reacting to being inside of her for the first time.

"I never knew it would be like this…" Ichigo whispers into her ear, and he kisses her earlobe, before he draws partway, and he pulls his head back to look her in the eyes. "Are you okay?" Ichigo asks her, and Rukia nods her head yes.

Ichigo pushes back inside, and Rukia moans at that.

"Do that again!" Rukia orders him, and Ichigo doesn't need to be told twice.

Ichigo is proud that he's able to actually make her moan several times, before he loses control and lets loose. He collapses on top of her and begins to kiss her over and over again, on her cheek, since he can't believe the way she made him feel.

"I don't know how you did that, but I'm glad I still have two more coupons…" Ichigo says, and Rukia smiles.

She decides to wait until he's used the coupons, to find a way to tell him that she couldn't agree more.

She finally meets his eyes, and her lips part in surprise, at what she can see in them. His eyes are shining with so much love, she'd have to be blind, not to see it. She made love to a man that truly loves and cherishes her. She'll never regret loving Ichigo as much as she has, and she'll never stop loving him, either.

_I never want to give him up, ever!_


	46. Drunken Confrontation

**A/N- I couldn't get this idea out of my head, and so that I could actually concentrate on the other requested pieces, I had to do this one in between so that I could stop thinking about it. I hope you enjoy it!**

_Drunken Confrontation_

"Orihime, how come you never drink with me?" Matsumoto had asked Inoue back on the first night that she had slept over Inoue's house.

"Well, that's because I'm underage, Rangiku-san!" Inoue had replied, and Matsumoto had let out a loud sigh at that response.

Matsumoto is the kind of woman who likes to drink frequently, and never alone. This night, as she's staying at Inoue's apartment, she very carefully spikes some punch and when Inoue comes home, Matsumoto slowly but surely gets her drunk.

Inoue, has no idea that she's getting drunk, since she's never consumed alcohol before, but after drinking Matsumoto's homemade fruit punch for several hours, Inoue is hopelessly wasted.

Matsumoto starts to wonder whether or not she made a huge error, when Inoue's drunken personality comes out.

"It's hard! To love Kurosaki-kun as much as I do, and to see him be so close to Kuchiki-san! I wish she'd just go back to Soul Society and stay there! Sometimes I think she's the reason why Kurosaki-kun doesn't pay attention to me." Inoue is telling Matsumoto, who raises an eyebrow and nods at Inoue.

"So you were close to him before she came into his life?" Matsumoto had asked as she'd started to feel a bit sorry for the normally sweet, big breasted teen. Tears spring into Inoue's eyes, even as she knows she has to admit the truth.

"Not exactly. He didn't really notice me at all back then, but I already liked him before she came along." Inoue admits in a tight voice.

"That's interesting. You and he weren't close before Kuchiki came along? But you came with him to rescue her in Soul Society." Matsumoto had pointed out, causing Inoue to blush.

"My brother was a hollow and he tried to come after me. Kuchiki-san and Kurosaki kun came and stopped him from killing me. After that night, I became much more aware of spirits. When Kuchiki-san was taken away, that's when I talked to Kurosaki-kun to ask him what happened to her. I decided to follow him when I found out he was going to Soul Society to save Kuchiki-san. He didn't ask me to go." Inoue says openly.

"I see." Matsumoto says, but when she thinks about it carefully, it seems like Kuchiki is the only reason that Inoue was able to change things between herself and Kurosaki, and get him to actually notice her, even as a friend.

"I know how it sounds…but I was hoping that when he came to save me in Hueco Mundo that he might have finally realized that he's developing feelings for me, but he kept telling me that I was his friend, and that was why he came to save me." Inoue says with pain in her voice.

"He seemed fairly upset when you were considered a traitor." Matsumoto points out, as she feels sorry for the drunk and depressed girl on her hands.

"Don't you see? He kept saying he had to save me because I was his friend, but his answer was always different and vague when he went to save Kuchiki-san. He could have easily called her a friend too, but he never did that. Sometimes his answer was that she saved him and so he had to save her, but when I first talked to him, he looked so sad that she was gone, and when I asked if he was going to save her, he said yeah, but then he changed the subject." Inoue says sadly. "He said he was surprised I could see them, since he was in soul form." Inoue explains.

"So he shied away from discussing further his reasons and feelings for wanting to save Kuchiki?" Matsumoto says, and Inoue nods her head.

"Yes. But he was very vocal about why he came to save me." Inoue says with a depressed look in her eyes.

"So why don't you tell him how you feel?" Rangiku asks, not expecting for the alcohol to turn Inoue into an aggressive girl, or that it might make her feel confrontational.

"You're right, Rangiku-san!" Inoue says, and she grabs her glass of punch and downs it in one gulp.

Rangiku's eyes widen as a gleam appears in Inoue's eyes.

"Orihime?" Rangiku asks, a bit worriedly, when Inoue stands, and promptly stumbles, having to grab onto the table to keep from completely toppling over.

"I have to change, into something more seductive…" Inoue says, except she says it like sev-duct-ib.

"I don't think you have anything like that." Rangiku reminds her, and Inoue's eyes light up.

"You're right! Let me borrow something!" Inoue pleads, and Matsumoto looks at Inoue for a moment, before she agrees.

"I guess I can let you, since you have a similar shape to me." Rangiku says, before she leads Inoue over to her dozens of shopping bags.

Inoue chooses an evening gown, which makes Rangiku cringe, to think that Inoue intends to walk over to Ichigo's house, dressed like she's ready to go on a date.

"I want to wear this." Inoue says, and Rangiku decides to help her drunk friend out.

"That might scare him off before you even begin to talk…and it's not really seductive like what I think you should go for. Try this!" Rangiku says, and she holds up a pair of short shorts, with a very low cut blouse.

Inoue frowns, and looks longingly at the evening gown, but Rangiku takes it, and shakes her head no.

_A Half Hour Later…_

"I hope no hollows come tonight. My back is sore…my neck is sore…and I could use a fucking break." Ichigo groans, as he flops down on his bed and closes his eyes. Rukia walks over to the bed, and scratches her chin, as she ponders for a moment.

"I know you have told me a lot of times now, not to believe everything I see on the television, but…" Rukia says softly, and Ichigo pops one eye open to look at her, with a lot of curiosity and a bit of dread. She's capable of saying anything.

"But what?" Ichigo asks, when she doesn't continue.

"Well…if you're sore, I can give you a massage." Rukia says, and she immediately looks away, which makes him relieved, since he can feel his face burning up. They hear the doorbell, but neither of them pay any attention to it.

"For once, you've gotten a great idea from the television! Nothing sounds better, than a massage." Ichigo says, and he rolls over to his stomach. Rukia doesn't move, so he turns his head to look at her, but she looks like she's very confused too.

"Aren't you supposed to be naked?" Rukia asks, seriously, and Ichigo can't help it, he blushes all the way down to his neck.

"What were you watching?!" Ichigo asks her incredulously, and Rukia blushes again.

"I just happened to walk by…your father was watching." Rukia informs him, and Ichigo takes a deep breath.

"I should probably take off my shirt, at least." He says, and Rukia nods. She's a bit relieved, because when she'd first offered to massage him, she'd imagined him getting naked immediately, and she didn't know how she was going to handle that.

"Okay." Rukia says, and Ichigo sits up, to pull off his shirt.

He doesn't look at Rukia as he tosses his shirt on his desk chair, and he lays back on his stomach, and does his best to relax…a near impossibility, at the moment.

Rukia climbs onto the bed, and straddles his body, by sitting on his ass. She stretches her arms out, to start on his shoulders, but it's at that moment, that Ichigo's bedroom door opens. Ichigo tries to jump up, and Rukia ends up being caught off guard, so that she lands against his back, and he lands back on the bed too.

They look at the door, expecting to see Isshin, but instead, it's Inoue.

"Inoue?" Ichigo and Rukia say it in unison, and she just stares at them for a moment.

"Am I interrupting?" Inoue asks.

"Yes." Ichigo answers.

"No." Rukia answers at the same time as Ichigo. She quickly pulls herself off of him, and Ichigo stays in his laying position, on the bed.

"If you need a massage, you should let me do it, Kurosaki-kun." Inoue says, and Rukia's eyes widen at that.

"Hey!" Rukia sputters, and Ichigo gives Inoue a strange look.

"That would be weird." Ichigo mutters, and Inoue frowns.

"Why would it be weird? Is it weird for a girl to want to massage the man she's in love with?" Inoue asks, loudly, and Ichigo quickly sits up, and gets behind Rukia.

"What are you talking about!?" Ichigo asks her, and then he grabs Rukia's shoulders, and whispers frantically. "What is she talking about?!"

Rukia is as stumped as Ichigo, and just as wide eyed.

"Are you saying that you want to massage Ichigo, because you love him?" Rukia asks, in a high pitched squeak, and Ichigo's hands tighten on her shoulders.

"Yes!" Inoue squeals, and Ichigo hides his face in Rukia's back.

"Make her go away…make her go away…make her go away…" Ichigo mutters under his breath, but Rukia hears him clearly.

"But Ichigo doesn't feel like that about you. He wants me to massage him." Rukia points out, and Inoue clenches her fists.

"I want to show Kurosaki-kun, how right it can feel, between he and I." Inoue says, and Rukia gawks at her.

_She isn't acting like she usually does…_

"I don't want you to!" Ichigo growls, from behind Rukia.

He can't hide himself completely, since he's much larger than her, but at least he doesn't have to look at Inoue, since he really doesn't want to, right now.

Inoue steps closer, and Rukia starts to feel like maybe Inoue is taking things, too far.

"No!" Rukia says sharply to Inoue, but that doesn't stop her friend. She climbs into Ichigo's bed, and Rukia reacts without thinking.

"Way of Binding, Number Four, Crawling Rope!" Rukia chants, and Inoue is immediately tied up, while Ichigo scampers off the bed and grabs his shirt, to put it on, with his back to the girls.

Rukia stays on the bed, and now that Inoue is in the bed with her, she can clearly smell the other girl's breath. Inoue is drunk.

"What the hell?!" Ichigo grumbles, a bit angry that his anticipated massage was completely ruined by Inoue's arrival.

"She's drunk. Can we stick her in a recovery bed for the night?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo crosses his arms stubbornly, as he glares at Rukia. He's fairly annoyed right now.

"My back hurts, and she's heavy! I am not carrying her. Get her out of my bed!" Ichigo says, and Rukia smothers a smile when Inoue gasps.

"I'll carry her to a recovery bed, just lead the way for me, please." Rukia says, and Ichigo starts to feel guilty.

"She's heavy…" Ichigo reiterates, and Inoue just blushes in mortification.

"I've carried heavier." Rukia says, looking pointedly at him. Ichigo blushes, and growls at her.

"Follow me, and we'll stick her in the clinic." Ichigo says, and Rukia nods. She gathers Inoue up in her arms, and they get her into the clinic.

_Ten Minutes Later…_

After putting Inoue to sleep, using a high level binding spell, Ichigo is finally back in his bed, with his shirt off, and Rukia straddling his back.

"Thanks for taking care of it…" Ichigo says, even though he wants to say more, he doesn't.

"I'm glad you didn't want her to massage you." Rukia whispers to Ichigo, who smiles, as her hands move across his back, to bring him incredible pleasure and relief.

It's just like always, he feels so much in his heart, yet he can't vocalize what he's feeling.

_I'm not going to tell you I love you…even though I do._


	47. As Requested: No Boys Allowed

**A/N- I had a request to continue on, from chapters 19, 33, 38, and 43. This chapter is dedicated to the person that requested it, and the twins are now fifteen, while Ayumu is fourteen. Rukia and Ichigo also have another son, Katsuo who is only twelve.**

**Please Enjoy!**

_No Boys Allowed_

Ichigo and Rukia are sitting on the couch together, after work, cuddling after a long day. Mika suddenly tears downstairs, and gives her parents a pleading gaze.

"A bunch of kids from class, want to go to the new water park tomorrow! Can we go with them?" Mika asks as she puts her hands together, and hopes for a yes.

"Will there be boys going with you?" Ichigo asks suspiciously, and Mika clenches her fists.

"Yes, but they're only friends!" Mika says quickly, but Ichigo still glares at her.

"I thought I told you that you were too young to date!" Ichigo says in a low voice, and Mika glares at him, looking identical to her mother, as Rukia is glaring at him now too.

"A bunch of friends going somewhere, isn't a date." Rukia says, and Ichigo throws her a dirty look for not backing him up on this one.

"If they're only friends, then you won't mind just meeting them, there. Your mother and I will take all of you kids to the park, so you can see your friends then." Ichigo says, and Mika slowly nods.

_I guess it's better than not being allowed to go at all._

"Thanks!" Mika says, before she darts back up the stairs.

"No bikinis either!" Ichigo shouts up after his daughter, and he can hear both girls groaning at that.

"One piece swimsuits aren't in style!" Mika screams at the top of the stairs.

"I don't give a flying fuck!" Ichigo roars back up, then he hears Mika go into her room, and slam the door shut.

Ichigo grumbles, and closes his eyes.

_They both look exactly like Rukia…and I was always so attracted to Rukia when I was a teen…I'm sure the boys in their class feel the same way about them._

"Ichigo, I don't understand why you have to act like there is something wrong, with hanging out with boys. The more you act like there's something wrong with it, the more the girls are going to get curious." Rukia points out, and Ichigo glowers at her.

"Teenage boys only have one thing on their brains." Ichigo grumbles, and Rukia laughs.

"You didn't." Rukia points out, and Ichigo gives her a quick glare.

"Just because you didn't know about it, doesn't mean it wasn't on my mind." Ichigo tells her in a low voice, and Rukia suddenly perks up.

"Really? And all of this time, I thought I forced thoughts of sex into your brain!" Rukia tells him, and Ichigo scoffs.

"I just hid those kinds of thoughts from you, that's all." Ichigo says simply, and then they hear their daughters start to laugh loudly from their bedroom.

Ichigo glares up at the ceiling.

"Calm down, Ichigo." Rukia says, since he looks like he's getting more and more pissed off.

"How can I calm down? They look like young women now, and what's worse, they look just like you! I'm sure practically every guy in high school had fantasies about you!" Ichigo moans, and Rukia's eyes sparkle at his unintentional compliment.

The doorbell rings, and Rukia quickly gets up to answer it. Ichigo follows behind her, and when they open the door, they see Shina and her little brother, who is only half a year younger than the twins, at the door.

"Shina! Yuudai!" Rukia says in surprise, and Shina tosses her hair.

"Can we go see Rini and Mika?" Shina asks, and Ichigo crosses his arms.

"We can call them down for you to talk in the family room. There are no boys allowed in their room." Ichigo says angrily, and Rukia rolls her eyes.

"Ichigo, please! Don't mind my husband, you can both go on up." Rukia tells them, and then she pinches Ichigo to keep him from stopping the Ishida siblings from heading up to see their daughters.

"Rukia! What the fuck?!" Ichigo snaps, and he glares at her. Rukia just raises an eyebrow at him.

"You didn't have these kinds of rules growing up, why are you making them for our daughters?" Rukia asks him seriously, and Ichigo frowns at her.

"I already told you…they look just like you, and means boys will only have one thing on their minds. I'm going to go listen at their door." Ichigo says, and Rukia closes her eyes in frustration.

"Now you're acting like your father." Rukia mutters, and Ichigo hears that. He turns around and glares at her.

"Don't you ever say that again!" Ichigo shouts, before he goes into stealth mode and climbs up the stairs.

Rukia smiles, and shakes her head. It's funny that he's only acting like this because of his own dirty thoughts when he was a teenager, and it make her happy to know that she's had this much of an effect on him, even back then.

_That night…_

Rini looks wide eyed at Mika.

"I can't believed Yuudai got in, just like you said he would!" Rini says, before she closes her eyes, and shakes her head.

"Shina owed him one, so now you owe me one too! You got to kiss him once, before Dad barged in here and said that our guests had stayed long enough. How was it?" Mika asks, and Rini blushes.

"Honestly? It wasn't like what I've read about in books. His kiss seemed very clumsy to me." Rini says, and Mika laughs.

"Tomorrow, we get to go to the amusement park! We should bring bikinis anyways." Mika says, and Rini shakes her head.

"No, I've experienced enough excitement, with today. I am going to follow the rules tomorrow, and just have fun. I don't think I'll be kissing Yuudai again anytime soon, either." Rini says, and Mika sits up.

"Why?" Mika asks, and Rini sighs.

"I felt too guilty afterwards, and even now. I was glad Dad came and sent them home." Rini admits, and Mika laughs again.

"We sure are some boring twins. What fun is it, if we're both the good sister?" Mika asks, and Rini smiles. She knows that because she plans on sticking with her one piece, that her sister will do it too, as a show of support.

"You still have to get your first kiss." Rini says, and Mika giggles.

"No way, I'm going to save my favor from you, for the right guy. The boys in our school don't interest me." Mika says, and Rini gasps.

"I wouldn't have done it, unless I was sure you were going to go soon after me! I thought you had a boy you wanted to kiss!" Rini whispers frantically.

"You know better than that…but who knows, maybe tomorrow, I'll meet the man of my dreams!" Mika says with a sigh, and they both jump in fright when their door swings open.

"Are you two still awake? I can hear your voices." Rukia says to her daughters, and the girls both laugh.

"We're just excited about tomorrow, Mom." Mika says quickly.

"Well, it's a good thing I was passing by your room, when you were talking about the man of your dreams, because your father would probably have a heart attack." Rukia tells them, and the girls both start to giggle.

"Sorry!" Mika sings, and Rukia smiles.

"Good night," Rukia says, and the girls respond at the same time.

"Good night, Mom!" They say in unison, and Rukia closes the door.

Rukia heads back to hers and Ichigo's room, where Ichigo is waiting naked for her.

"You checked on all of the kids?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia smiles.

"The boys are already asleep, but the girls were still up." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo stares lustily at his wife.

"Ayumu and Katsuo were really excited when I told them we were going to the water park tomorrow." Ichigo tells her, and when she climbs into bed, he yanks her over closer to him.

"They just want to see all of the girls in their bikinis." Rukia says, and Ichigo smirks.

"I want to see you in nothing at all." Ichigo whispers, before he turns out the lamp next to the bed.

_The Next Day…_

Rukia has a blast, hanging out with her sons. It's true, that they both do plenty of peeking at girls in their bikinis, but they also enjoy hanging out with their mom, who is far more athletic than most moms.

"Oi, Mom! Where in the hell did Dad go?" Ayumu asks, and Rukia grins at him.

"He's keeping a close eye on your sisters. Making them wear one pieces, may have been a mistake, because they're getting much more attention. With them being identical twins, they stand out enough. Add the one pieces to that, and it's a recipe for disaster." Rukia explains, and Ayumu nods, though he doesn't understand at all.

"We should go get him, so that he can have some fun, too!" Katsuo says, and Rukia smiles.

"I'm afraid we'll be unsuccessful." Rukia says, and her sons both look at her with confusion in their eyes.

"I hope I'm not that crazy when I become a father…" Ayumu mutters.

The sound of Mika and Rini screaming suddenly get their attention.

"Hollow?" Rukia asks, as she immediately hops out of the water and begins running towards the sound of her daughters screaming.

_Weird, I don't sense a hollow. _

Ayumu and Katsuo are right behind their mother, and then they see that Ichigo has a hold on a teenage boy, and he looks ready to send him to Soul Society.

"Stop it Dad! Stop!" Mika yells, and Rini starts to cry. Rukia flies in, and hits Ichigo so hard that he drops the boy, who quickly scurries away, as fast as his legs can carry him.

"Were you trying to kill that boy?" Rukia demands, but Ichigo is still furious.

"Why did you stop me? He tried to feel up our daughters!" Ichigo growls, and Rukia glares at him.

"You looked like you were about to kill him!" Rukia tells him, and Ichigo crosses his arms.

"I was only going to half kill him." Ichigo argues, but Rukia narrows her eyes at him.

"How are they ever going to learn to stick up for themselves, if you're always jumping in?" Rukia demands, and Ichigo refuses to answer her.

He knows his girls can protect themselves if they have to, but as long as he's around, they'll never have to.

Rukia's lecture goes to waste though, because both girls suddenly hug their father.

"Thanks for getting rid of the jerk!" Rini and Mika say at the same time, which makes Rukia gawk. Her sons have similar expressions of disbelief on their faces.

"Weren't you screaming a minute ago for him to stop?" Ayumu asks, voicing Rukia's thoughts perfectly.

"I didn't want Dad to kill him, but I really wanted that guy to leave us alone!" Rini says, and Mika nods her head in agreement.

"Oh, for crying out loud." Ayumu looks aggravated, and Rukia can't blame him.

The girls decide to ditch their friends, and spend the rest of the day with the family, since their father asked them very nicely, after rescuing them, to hang out with the family instead.

After a couple of hours though, their friends found them, and decided to hang out with the Kurosaki family too.

Ichigo and Rukia finally go down the slide together, and it makes Ichigo feel like a kid again, since holding his wife, is still very exciting to him.

When they land in the pool of water, laughing and hugging, they hear a few of the kids talking.

"Your family is so cool!" Someone says, and they hear their daughters laugh in happiness.

"We know!" The girls respond in unison, before laughing again.

"You hear that, Rukia? We have a cool family!" Ichigo whispers, and Rukia smiles at him.

"You didn't have to tell me that, I already knew." Rukia smiles, and Ichigo grins.

_I like that people think our family is cool._

**A/N- Yuudai means manly and great**

**Katsuo means victory and hero**


	48. As Requested: Remember Me

**A/N-This was a request via PM, and I really liked the idea. It's dedicated to the requester, and of course Berry! It's another long one, which is why it is late. Please Enjoy!**

_Remember Me _

When Rukia's spirit phone starts to beep a warning, it's a different sound from what Ichigo's ever heard in the past. The way Rukia's eyes widen in shock, force him to ask the most obvious question possible.

"What is it?" Ichigo asks, expecting the usual answer of a hollow.

"It's very rare! I've never seen one in person, myself." Rukia mutters, as she stares at her phone.

"Too bad that doesn't answer my question." Ichigo answers in an agitated tone.

"It's a spiritually strong animal, that has died, and been left alone for far too long. It's not quite the same as a hollow, since it was never human, but if sent to Soul Society, would be similar to Captain Komamura."

"The guy who looked like a wolf?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia explains further.

"An animal with human intelligence, and high spiritual power is extremely rare...and they are extremely powerful. Since they were never human, their instincts are far more honed than that of human hollows." Rukia explains quickly, and then she pops her gikongan pill so that she pops out of her gigai.

Ichigo pops out of his body, and wonders what in the hell they're going to find, when they get to the location.

"I never even thought about that possibility," Ichigo admits, and Rukia gives him a wide eyed look.

"I've never hunted one before." Rukia admits, and Ichigo gives her a quick look.

"Really?" Ichigo asks, with a raised eyebrow, and Rukia nods her head.

"I hope we can get through it, without any problems." Rukia says, and Ichigo nods his head. He's not really worried, but he realizes it must be very rare, if Rukia's never seen one before.

Ichigo wants to tell her that she doesn't have to worry, since she's with him, but he has a feeling she wouldn't appreciate that comment, no matter how comforting he might mean for it to sound.

They hurry to the location of the animal hollow and when they both finally spot it, their eyes widen in shock and in worry. It's a humongous gray wolf, with the strength of a hollow to back it up.

"That's it?!" Ichigo exclaims, and Rukia doesn't bother to answer his question.

"Dance! Sode No Shirayuki!" Rukia calls out, and Ichigo can hear the stress clearly in her voice.

"Rukia! Wait a minute!" Ichigo says, but her eyes are on the monstrous hollow in front of them. She jumps in the air, to send a powerful White Ripple at the thing.

"Second-" Rukia never gets more than that out, because a massive claw flies at her at a speed far faster than shunpo. She cannot move, all she can do, is take the hit directly.

"Rukia!" Ichigo's scream isn't heard in Rukia's head, as she flies headfirst at the ground.

Ichigo wished he could look away, since Rukia's head and body actually go into the ground, from being hit so hard.

"Bankai! Tensa Zangetsu." Ichigo cries out furiously, and he begins to take on the hollow.

It takes Ichigo way longer than he would have liked, to be able to kill the thing. Once he's managed to kill it though, he runs over to Rukia and yanks her out of the ground. There is blood, everywhere. Ichigo holds her close in his arms, and a few tears squeeze out, that she was so badly hurt, when he should have acted quickly enough to keep that from ever happening.

Moments later, Byakuya and Renji appear, right as Ichigo is about to whisk Rukia off to see Inoue. Ichigo's mouth falls open, as he holds Rukia in his arms, and stares at them.

"Rukia!" Renji looks horrified to see Rukia in such bad condition, and Byakuya looks like he's ready to kill.

"How in the hell did you allow this to happen?" Byakuya demands in a low angry voice, as he glares at the orange haired substitute Shinigami.

Ichigo flinches, when Rukia stirs in his arms. He looks at her with concern, just like Byakuya and Renji are also doing.

Rukia opens her eyes, and her eyes widen immediately, upon seeing Ichigo. She starts to immediately flail in his arms, and he only barely reacts in time to keep from dropping her on her head a second time.

"Put me down!" Rukia shrieks, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"You were just badly hurt!" Ichigo argues, but Rukia is looking at him, in the same way most people would look at a ghost.

"I can't believe her eyes are open." Renji says, since there is so much blood.

"We need to get her to Unohana. She'll need to be monitored." Byakuya says, and Rukia quickly turns her head towards him.

"Ni-sama!" Rukia says, with relief, obvious in her voice. Ichigo is watching, when her eyes slide back to him, and she looks at him as though she isn't sure who he is.

"Rukia, don't worry, we'll take you back, immediately." Byakuya says, and he moves in front of Ichigo instantly.

"Wait-" Ichigo starts to talk, but Rukia is only looking at her brother now.

"I'll take care of this Kurosaki. Go back home." Byakuya says in a low voice, as he holds out his arms to collect Rukia.

"Kurosaki? You mean…he isn't a Shiba?" Rukia asks curiously, and the shock to Ichigo of such a question, is all Byakuya needed to pull Rukia out of Ichigo's arms.

Ichigo's eyes are wide, and he's staring at Rukia as though she's lost her mind.

"Rukia…don't you remember me?" Ichigo whispers, in a hurt voice, but the injury and blood loss have caught up to her. She passes out in Byakuya's arms.

"We'll take care of her. If she stays like this, she won't be back." Byakuya says in a short voice, and Ichigo reaches out with a hand, only to grab at air, since Renji and Byakuya backed away quickly, using their shunpo.

"Don't worry, once she recovers-" Renji starts to say to Ichigo, but he's cut off by Byakuya.

"Renji, time is of the essence. The gate." Byakuya orders, and Renji hurries to follow the orders.

Ichigo can only stare after them, as the door shuts, and he begins to shake from the raw emotions coursing through his body.

_Aw, what's the matter King? Gonna cry now?_

Ichigo blocks out the sound of his inner hollow. He can only concentrate on the huge emptiness that he can feel, now that Rukia is out of sight, out of reach, and unable to remember him.

Ichigo falls to his knees, drops Zangetsu, puts his head down, and brings his hands up to his face. All he can feel, is despair. He's all alone, and he doesn't bother to analyze why tears are rolling down his cheeks.

When Ichigo is finally able to pull himself together, he goes straight to Urahara's shop. He walks right in, and as he steps inside, he sees Urahara and Yoruichi standing there.

"Kurosaki-san! Why are you here, and why do you have such a scary look on your face?" Urahara asks, since he's a bit taken aback, by the anger currently emanating from Ichigo's body at the moment.

"Urahara-san. I need you to force open a path to Soul Society for me, again." Ichigo tells him, and Urahara's eyes widen.

"Why?" He asks, and Ichigo closes his eyes.

"Rukia and I were fighting a spiritually strong animal, that became a hollow, and she was seriously injured in the fight. She didn't know who I was. Byakuya took her away before I could jog her memory!" Ichigo says angrily.

Yoruichi and Urahara both exchange a worried look, but Urahara nods his head in agreement to Ichigo's demand.

"Come back here, in exactly one week and one hour, and you can go then." Urahara says, and Ichigo nods his head, before he walks out of the store, and back home.

_This is going to be one hell of a long week…_

* * *

The week without Rukia proves to be far more difficult than he had even realized at the start of it, because he's left to wonder and worry, whether or not Rukia is okay, and whether or not she's regained her memories.

Rukia not being around is hard enough on him, but the very idea that she might not remember all that they've shared, is enough to drive him to near madness.

_She means so much to me, and I know I mean a lot to her, if she has her memory back, but what if she doesn't have them? How would she view me then?_

It feels like something precious has been stolen from him, and he is beyond pissed off about it, he's absolutely livid.

All week long, his mind is consumed with thoughts about Rukia, and whether or not she's recalled their history together.

_What if she never remembers, King? Will you lose the will to live, if that happens?_

Ichigo never acknowledges his inner hollow when he asks such absurd questions.

"Only her death could make me lose my will. As long as she's alive, I will never lose the will to help her regain her memories, of me, and of us." Ichigo whispers out loud, hoping that Rukia can feel his concern for her, all the way in Soul Society.

It's been the kind of week where you learn more about yourself and your weaknesses than you might have ever wanted to. Ichigo was always aware of it, but now it's glaringly obvious that his biggest weakness is _her_. It's so strange, because she's also the source of his greatest strength.

Ichigo had never realized how deeply in love he was with Rukia…of course he knew that she was important to him, and he knew that his feelings went beyond friendship…but now he's a complete fucking mess, just because she doesn't remember that he's Kurosaki Ichigo, and not a member of the Shiba family.

Ichigo doesn't know why he ever allowed himself to relax. It seems like shortly after he's solved one problem, another always comes following along, the moment he thinks his life will finally get back into some sort of manageable order.

Now he's lost the most important thing of all, the most dear person in the world, and the girl who affects him, all the way down to the piece of his heart that was meant only for fighting. He's lost his precious Rukia.

Ichigo realizes that he might be a bit dramatic, since it's possible that she's regained her memories, but if that were true, he is sure she would want to reassure him of that fact. That she hasn't, must mean she hasn't regained her memories at all.

When the day comes, where he's finally going to leave the living world, and bust into Soul Society to collect his greatest weakness, and his greatest source of strength, he's out of his mind, from all of his lonely thinking.

He had refused to see any of his friends all week long, since he doesn't want any help this time around. He doesn't want any of them to accidentally overhear him proclaiming his love for her, or even more embarrassing than that, they might see him begging her to remember him.

It's been a rude awakening, to learn so much about himself in the past week, so much that he's not proud of, and downright ashamed of.

When Ichigo goes to leave the house, his father is gushing about his children to Masaki's portrait. Ichigo rolls his eyes.

"It's never a good day to learn you're exactly like your father." Ichigo mutters under his breath.

He slips out of the house unnoticed…or so he thinks. He never hears his father tell the portrait that his son is going to go to pick up his future wife.

* * *

"I don't fucking believe it. My heart is actually fluttering." Ichigo mutters angrily, as he flies down the breaking down past between the living world and Soul Society.

_It feels like you're in the mood to fight, if anybody gets in the way of your heartfelt and mushy confession. You make me sick, King._

Ichigo ignores his inner hollow, and concentrates on Rukia's reiatsu which is slowly getting stronger, in his senses.

"Bankai. Tensa Zangetsu." Ichigo chants, as he closes in on the exit.

When Ichigo busts through the path, he doesn't stop to see if anybody was expecting his approach. He goes at the speed his bankai allows him, straight up to the Gate of the White Way.

When Jidanbou appears, he immediately smiles, at the sight of Ichigo. He had been ordered not to let Ichigo inside, but there's no way he'll follow such a stupid order.

"Jidanbou, I need to pass through!" Ichigo says, and his voice sounds as serious as a heart attack.

"Sure thing, Strawberry, I'll just open the gate for you!" Jidanbou says with a chuckle, causing Ichigo to growl.

This overgrown Shinigami never did get over how funny it was that a kid named Strawberry came and kicked so much ass in Soul Society.

"Quit acting like it's the girl version of the name!" Ichigo shouts, as he clenches his fist and shakes it at Jidanbou.

_That's one thing about Rukia, she never once made fun of my name. Will she remember me?_

Jidanbou lifts the gate, and Ichigo flies through.

"Good luck!" Jidanbou calls out, and Ichigo waves at him.

"Thank you, Jidanbou!" Ichigo shouts, and he moves at top speed, to where he feels Rukia at.

He doesn't worry about not knowing his way, when a wall gets in his way, he either jumps over it, or busts straight through it. He can sense Byakuya near Rukia.

_I hope Byakuya isn't foolish enough to get in my way._

Ichigo can see that there are several Shinigami, standing guard around the Fourth Squad Relief Center, but he's already in bankai, and it wouldn't matter if they had a million Shinigami waiting to intercept him, he'd go through them all, to get to Rukia. All he ends up doing is confusing those left to guard for him, since they felt like he's passed by them, but they never saw him.

Ichigo moves straight for Rukia's reiatsu, but he is finally stopped in his tracks, since not only is Byakuya guarding the door, but Unohana is standing right next to him. It's a united front.

"You are not allowed to enter." Byakuya says, and Unohana nods her head in agreement.

"Get the fuck out of my way!" Ichigo growls, at the both of them, causing Unohana to look surprised. Never in a million years, did she think that this kid would ever act as though he would fight her.

"It could be harmful for her mental state." Unohana objects, and Ichigo gets a very scary, and angry look on his face, at being told that.

"I don't believe that!" Ichigo growls, and he steps back to hold his zanpakutou out menacingly.

"Retreat, now." Byakuya orders him, and Ichigo starts to glow blue, as he releases an enormous amount of reiatsu.

"Move out of my way, or die." Ichigo growls.

Inside the room, Rukia hears it all very clearly. At first, when she heard Ichigo's voice, a sense of happiness overcame her entire being. Then she heard him threaten her brother's life. She can't let that happen, and so she bursts out of the room, standing in between her brother and Captain Unohana.

Rukia intends to yell at him, for threatening her brother's life, and tell him it would be a cold day in hell when a twerp like him could beat her magnificent brother, but when she sees Ichigo, face to face, only one thought runs through her head.

_He looks so much like Kaien-dono!_

The man, Kurosaki, is staring at her, and all of the fire leaves his eyes, as he meets her gaze.

"Go and lay back down, Rukia." Byakuya says softly, and Rukia's first instinct is to do as she's ordered, but then the man speaks, and she forgets all about her brother's orders.

"Are you okay, Rukia?" Ichigo asks her, and his voice gives away the emotion and worry that's behind the question.

Rukia gives him a look of utter confusion, since the way he says her name gives her a sensation that she cannot begin to describe, since it's a mixture of so many emotions.

"Kurosaki, right?" Rukia asks him, and in that instant, his eyes grow very dull. He apparently doesn't like her calling him that.

Their conversation is cut short, because Byakuya whips out his zanpakutou, and Unohana grabs Rukia and gently pushes her back into the room.

In this instant, Rukia suddenly has a vision, of the orange haired man. In her vision, he intends to kill Captain Aizen! Rukia shakes her head, and looks at Unohana.

"How is he even still alive, after pointing his blade at Captain Aizen?" Rukia asks, and Unohana had been worried that something like this might happen.

Rukia's memories have been knocked back a couple of years, and she has no recollection of how she became close to Ichigo, or how Aizen betrayed all of Soul Society.

"We'll let them handle it." Unohana says softly, but Rukia is suddenly very worried for her brother.

_If this man survived a fight with Captain Aizen, doesn't that mean he's strong enough to kill ni-sama?!_

Rukia stares with terror, at the door, as a battle obviously is taking place, right outside of her room. A moment later, her brother falls, and though Rukia can tell he's not dead, she can tell he definitely fell. She immediately struggles to get away from Unohana, since for the past week, her brother has finally been acting the part of a brother. Caring for her, checking in on her, and actually looking her in the eyes.

Rukia is successful in getting away from Unohana, but the moment she breaks free, Ichigo throws open the door, and his gaze is only on Rukia.

_I'm his target! Why did he act like he cared about me?!_

"Stay away…" Rukia says, as she quickly backs away. Unohana steps in front of Rukia, and Ichigo glares at her.

"Don't make me fight you." Ichigo says, and his voice actually sounds a bit weary.

Rukia realizes that Unohana will fight, as long as she's in the relief center, and the last thing Rukia wants is for Unohana to be hurt, by this psychopath stalker that she's somehow obtained.

_Is it really stalking? I was happy to see him! This man is not Kaien-dono, though! Isn't his resemblance the only reason I was happy? I have to get out of here…now!_

As Unohana is drawing her zanpakutou, Rukia turns and jumps out of the window. Ichigo flies right past Unohana, and after Rukia. Unohana decides she should care for Byakuya, and let the other Shinigami handle Kurosaki.

Rukia moves at her fastest pace, and makes it to the grounds of the Thirteenth Division. Unfortunately for her, the orange haired Shinigami is faster than her, and she looks back to see him closing in on her. This totally freaks her out, and so she whips Sode No Shirayuki from her sheath, and stops suddenly, to face him.

Ichigo's eyes widen as Rukia faces him with her zanpakutou, and he stops flying towards her. He stops completely, and just looks at her.

"Infidel!" Rukia screeches at him, and Ichigo's eyes widen at that one.

He doesn't think she's ever called him that before. He notices that members of her own division are appearing, and they all are looking at him strangely.

They all wonder what on earth he could have possibly done, to get Kuchiki Rukia to draw on him. Rukia's condition has been kept a secret, as she's been recovering, to prevent people from coming and screwing with her mind.

"Rukia! Why are you doing this?" Ichigo asks, and he wonders if he's cursed. He's finally figured out his exact feelings for her, and now she's more interested in cutting his throat than listening to him.

"Me!? What about you?! Do you have a thing, for attacking captains?!" Rukia asks him suspiciously, and Ichigo looks very puzzled by that question.

"What?!" Ichigo asks, since he feels as though his brain was just pulled out, shaken up, and then put back in his head…her question is that perplexing.

"Die!" Rukia screeches, before she uses her shunpo to land next to him. "First Dance, White Moon!" Rukia yells out, and Ichigo zooms out of the way of her circle.

Rukia is breathing heavily, and glaring at him. The number of shocked spectators seems to be growing, and Ichigo doesn't really like that they have such a big audience.

"So you really want to kill me?" Ichigo asks, her, and this question stuns Rukia.

Inside, the answer is a resounding no! She doesn't want to kill him, not at all! But he is dangerous…and maybe if she keeps her head on straight, she can accomplish what needs to be accomplished, to keep Soul Society safe.

"I will kill you." Rukia replies after a moment of thinking, and Ichigo nearly smiles.

"I didn't ask if you could, or if you would. I asked if you wanted to do it." Ichigo points out, and Rukia's eyes show fire at that question. Ichigo is absolutely sure, after seeing her hesitation, that she doesn't really want to kill him.

"Are you playing games with me?" Rukia asks suspiciously, and Ichigo sighs.

"If you really want to kill me, then I guess you'll just have to follow me." Ichigo tells her, before he disappears with his shunpo.

Rukia holds back a frustrated scream, but she quickly locates the direction of his ridiculously large reiatsu, and flies off to chase him, before any of her comrades can stop her.

Ichigo leads her to where he trained for bankai. When Rukia follows him down into the hidden lair, Ichigo breathes a sigh of relief.

_Here, we won't be bothered._

"I'm here, to finish you off." Rukia informs him, in a steely voice, and Ichigo unties the belt, that holds the upper part of his Shinigami robes closed.

Rukia gulps, and inwardly shakes, as he shrugs out of it, and then reties the tie to fight her, so that his bare chest is showing. She immediately notices a few scars, and she wonders why those scars draw so much of her attention.

"Why do you want to kill me now? You never felt like that in the past." Ichigo says to her, and Rukia's eyes widen.

_So familiar! Why in the hell does he feel even more familiar than Kaien-dono?! Why?!_

"Second Dance…" Rukia says, and Ichigo is prepared, since he's familiar with her abilities. Her shikai attack is so beautiful, and so for now, Ichigo just watches her. "White Ripple!" Rukia belts out, and Ichigo jumps out of the way of her attack, before it can hit him.

"Don't you remember how you felt about me? How many times you risked your neck and your pride, just to save my life, or to help me out?" Ichigo yells at her, and Rukia glares at him.

"Way of Destruction, Number Thirty-Three, Blue Fire, Crash Down!" Rukia shouts, and Ichigo is forced to dodge again, but Rukia suddenly flies at him unexpectedly.

For the first time in his life, he uses Zangetsu, to deal with Rukia…though only defensively. He's too choked up to even chant out the slash attack, nor would he ever even consider as much, against her.

Rukia's eyes widen, and she realizes it very suddenly, that he's not taking her seriously. It pisses her off. She begins to push harder, and then she slides a foot in, and kicks him in the gut. Ichigo flies backwards from the force of her kick, and she jumps at him, to attack again. Ichigo rolls out of the way of her attack, and jumps back to his feet.He's reminded instantly of the fact that she's more powerful than he's ever given her credit for, as she relentlessly attacks him. She manages to cut him a few times in the process of attacking him too, not that Ichigo feels that pain at all.

_Stop this Rukia! Can't you fucking see, how it's breaking my heart?_

Their blades meet, and she keeps invoking her dances and kidou, in order to try to kill him. Ichigo doesn't have the same energy that he typically has in a fight. It's way too emotionally draining, to actually face the woman he loves, in a serious battle.

_King, you are so fucking stupid. You have to make her listen to you! Asking is useless! For once in your life, be a man!_

For the first time in a long time, Ichigo is moved by his hollow, and his insight. It had also happened when his hollow had pointed out that Ichigo never tried to understand old man, Zangetsu.

His speed is far greater than hers, since he's never left his bankai state, and he's lucky, since her arsenal of techniques would certainly be far more effective if he didn't have his incredible speed. He begins to move at his top speed, causing Rukia to see too many of him, to figure out where his main body is actually at.

_This is bad! He could so easily kill me right now!_

"Gotcha." Ichigo's voice is suddenly in her ear, and she feels Sode No Shirayuki being yanked from her grasp.

Before she can even comprehend all that has just happened, both of their zanpakutous are on the ground, out of reach, and she is flat on her back. He has each of her wrists, pinned with his hands, well above her head, on the ground, and his legs are effectively squeezing her own, to prevent any movement on her part whatsoever.

Rukia's eyes are terrified, and that kills him. He never, ever wanted her to be terrified of him.

"What do you intend to do?" Rukia whispers fearfully, just waiting for any opportunity to wriggle out of his grasp.

_If he fumbles with the tie again, it will be my only opportunity!_

"I'm going to make you remember me." Ichigo tells her, in as comforting a tone as he can manage.

Rukia only looks more terrified by that comment. He doesn't realize that she's had a vision of him already, fighting against Captain Aizen. She's also misinterpreted the meaning of that vision.

"What if I don't want to remember you?" Rukia asks him, in a hiss.

Ichigo feels like she managed to stab him anyways, even though she's pinned helplessly, underneath him.

"That wouldn't be like the Rukia I know…" Ichigo tells her, and Rukia gasps at that comment.

"I don't know any hoodlums like you!" Rukia snaps, and Ichigo laughs at that comment.

_It probably won't help any, but it's the only thing I can think of…_

Rukia's eyes widen, and her heart pounds, as he lowers his face, slowly and purposely towards her own. Rukia freezes up completely, and then she holds her breath.

Ichigo presses a gentle kiss on her forehead, and then he moves to her left cheek, and he kisses her there. Then he moves to her nose, and he kisses her there. He moves his face, over to the right side of her face, and he kisses her right cheek. Then he presses a kiss on her chin, and instead of lifting his lips off of her, he drags his lips up, until he feels her lips beneath his, and he kisses her on the lips.

His body is so close to hers, and his hands are making her wrists burn, from where he's touching her. And no matter how much she thinks about turning her head, to avoid his kisses, she can't actually accomplish that feat.

"Do you remember me yet, Rukia?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia just breathes deeply for a minute.

"Sorry, Kurosaki…" Rukia starts to say, but then he kisses her lips again.

Rukia can feel how desperate he is for something, as he kisses her, but she for the life of her, cannot figure out what it could be. Why can't she remember anything other than him fighting against Aizen?!

Ichigo doesn't stop kissing her for a minute, because he had no idea her lips could feel softer than the powder on a butterfly's wings.

"What about now?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia gives him a strange look.

"Have we…done _this_…in the past?" Rukia questions, with her face getting redder by the word. By the time she's finished her question, he's burning up too.

"No." Ichigo admits, and he smirks a little bit at her outraged expression. It's an expression he knows well.

"You are a pig!" Rukia roars, right in his face, and Ichigo's eyes widen at that.

"What the fuck?! Rukia! You liked it!" Ichigo informs her, and she only gets madder at that. She wishes she could punch him for his audacity…

Ichigo watches as her face suddenly looks shocked. Rukia suddenly remembers…he's insulted her in the past, too. And weirder than that, she realizes that they weren't in Soul Society, when it happened.

"I thought maybe I'd forgotten something important…but I guess not." Rukia mutters, and Ichigo glares at her.

"You forgot something _very_ important! Don't you remember giving me your Shinigami powers, to save my family?!" Ichigo asks her very loudly, right in her face.

That did it. Rukia suddenly remembers it all…and then she realizes that Ichigo was just kissing her, and he's still on top of her.

"Ichigo!" Rukia suddenly says, and Ichigo is so happy to hear her address him the right way, that he leans down to kiss her again.

This time, Rukia responds, and Ichigo releases one of her wrists, to put his hand in her hair. When he finally pulls back, Rukia realizes that she has hurt him.

"You're hurt!" Rukia exclaims, and Ichigo finally gets off of her.

"It's fine." Ichigo says, and he begins to walk away from her.

Rukia scrambles to her feet, and follows after him.

"It's not fine! Let me heal you!" Rukia yells at him, but then he turns around a rock, and when Rukia turns the corner, she's just in time to see his bare ass, as he jumps into the hot spring.

Rukia blushes, and Ichigo remembers how Yoruichi got into the hot spring with him. He hadn't wanted her company inside, but he wouldn't mind Rukia's company. He looks up at her, and he sees how red her face is. He wonders why she's so embarrassed.

"This hot spring will heal the wounds. Why don't you join me?" Ichigo asks her, and Rukia sucks in a deep breath.

_After everything I've put him through today, he'd still want me to join him? What should I do?!_

"Is this some sort of test?" Rukia asks him, as she keeps her eyes on his.

"Holy shit, just get in!" Ichigo snaps, and he turns his head away from her.

"Fine." Rukia says, and she walks around to the other side, where she stands in perfect view of Ichigo.

He gulps, as her hands move to the tie of her Shinigami robe, and she shrugs out of her robe, and lets it fall to the ground. White bindings act as a bra, something he hadn't been privy to in the past, and then she drops her pants. More white bindings cover her midsection.

Rukia stares right at him, as she locates the pin that holds her bindings into place, and she unwraps herself, slowly, but purposefully. She can hear his breathing change, with every inch of new skin that is revealed to him. Her breasts pop into view first.

Ichigo nearly groans. There is much activity, below the water right now, and the only way to describe it, is hard and throbbing.

Rukia has herself completely exposed a few moments after her breasts were exposed, and she eases herself into the water, across from him.

"You're torturing me." Ichigo mutters, since she is actually taking a freaking bath with him.

"How so? You're the one who told me to get in." Rukia says objectively.

"If you were over here, you'd understand better." Ichigo groans, and he doesn't expect her to move over next to him, but she does just that.

"I'm still not sure how I've tortured you." Rukia whispers, and Ichigo is bright red. She feels him take her hand, in the water, and then he puts her hand around something…

_It's long and hard…holy shit I'm holding his dick!_

"You've always had this effect on me…" Ichigo mutters, and Rukia gawks at him. She doesn't let go of his erection, either.

"You mean…you actually want me?" Rukia asks with shock, and Ichigo wonders how she can even ask that.

"Don't act so surprised…why are you so shocked anyways?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia raises an eyebrow at that.

"I just thought…' Rukia stops. It would be untrue to say that she never thought Ichigo was attracted to her, but she certainly never thought that he'd actually act on it. She begins to move her hand, and Ichigo groans.

"That feels good…" Ichigo whispers, and Rukia smiles. Ichigo leans over to kiss her again, and Rukia returns the kiss, quite passionately.

She doesn't know if it's Ichigo, the water, or the touching, but she's suddenly anxious to go all the way, with Ichigo. She realizes he's been through hell, since she left the living world, and him coming to see her was too sweet for her to do anything other than make love to him.

"With you, even the smallest touches feel really good." Rukia whispers, and Ichigo smiles at her.

"Is that how you've always felt?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia nods her head, as she smiles.

Ichigo's eyes widen as Rukia pulls her hand away and moves herself onto his lap…with her bare ass resting on his legs.

_Oh holy hell! How in the hell am I supposed to respond to this?!_

Rukia adjusts herself so that she's straddling him, and then she leans forward to hug him, pressing her breasts against his chest, and she rests her cheek on his shoulder. Ichigo's arms slide around her, and Rukia begins to kiss his shoulder, and then she moves to his neck.

Ichigo is squirming, which she takes as a good sign. She continues her assault on his exposed skin, with her feathery light kisses. She reaches back down, to take hold of him again, and when she does that, he pushes his face forward into her own neck, and he begins to kiss, and suck on her neck.

"I want you…" Rukia informs him, and Ichigo has the cutest look of shock on his face when she says that. Rukia uses her knees, to lift herself above him, and then she slowly lowers herself over the length of him.

Ichigo feels when he breaks past her virginity, but perhaps because of the effects of the water, she doesn't feel the pain, at all.

"Oh god….Rukia!" Ichigo groans, as she lowers herself all the way down. She doesn't immediately move, instead, she moves her hips back and forth as she tries to remember every sensation of becoming one, with him.

"Ichigo…" Rukia whispers, and his hands move to her waist, and when she begins to raise herself up a bit, he presses his face forward, into her beautiful breasts.

He manages to quickly lick her nipple before she moves back down over him, and he starts to involuntarily rock, as waves of pleasure rush through his body.

"Shit…Rukia!" Ichigo says, and he sucks in his breath as he tries with all of his might, to stop himself from exploding, but then she clenches up on him, and he has never felt anything sweeter in his life.

He starts to convulse, and Rukia says the words he's been longing to hear for the longest time.

"I'm always going to be with you, Ichigo." Rukia whispers, and he lets out a loud groan, since he can hardly think about anything other than the next time he'll get to experience being with Rukia like that again.

"Damn straight." Ichigo responds after he finally calms down a bit.

_I'll never let you get away from me._


	49. As Requested: Baby Shoes

**A/N-I had a request to do this and it's dedicated to the person that requested it! Ichigo and Rukia have been intimate, and together for awhile in this one. Please enjoy!**

_Baby Shoes_

Ichigo has just gone into the shower, so Rukia walks into his bedroom, and lays down in his bed, as she lays a hand, over her flat, but pregnant belly.

_How in the hell am I supposed to tell him? I'm almost three months pregnant, and he has no clue!_

Rukia has never before considered how nerve wrecking it might be, to have to tell such huge, life changing news.

Rukia had sworn Urahara to secrecy, when she bought the Shinigami pregnancy test, which had no possibility of giving a false positive like human pregnancy tests can do. It also tells you how far you're along, and when you can expect to be due for labor. It had a blade on the end of the test, and all you had to do was cut yourself to get some blood into the testing tube.

Rukia had been so nervous, as the blood had dribbled into the tube, and she had spent the wait period healing herself.

_What would Ichigo be like, as a father? Did this happen way too soon? I don't think he'd tell me that he wasn't happy about it, but what if he did?_

So many worries, and so many fears. Rukia decides to stop worrying that he won't be happy with it. She will have to proceed, as though he'll be ecstatic about her news.

_Ichigo loves me. This will make him very happy, and if it doesn't, I'll kick his ass until he is happy about it._

Rukia's mind is finally made up. It's been difficult to think at all, since Ichigo is practically always around her.

When she had gone to buy the pregnancy test, she had to wait until he was tied up on the toilet, to tear out of the house without him. She had popped out of her body after buying the test and had sat at the top of a tall tree to take the test. She had been wary of Ichigo's reiatsu too, since she didn't want him to find her while she was waiting on the results of the pregnancy test.

Rukia realizes that there is only one way to make herself tell Ichigo, without putting it off, any further. She chants for a hell butterfly, and sends a message to ni-sama that she and Ichigo have some wonderful news to share with him.

Right after the hell butterfly flutters out of Ichigo's window, and towards the sky, Ichigo walks into his room. He smiles when he sees Rukia on his bed, staring out the window.

Ichigo drops his towel and stands there naked, waiting for her to turn her head to look at him. She doesn't turn to look right away, so he has time to pose, by putting his hand behind his head, and jutting out his middle. When Rukia turns around, she immediately turns red.

"Ichigo!" Rukia hisses, and he moves closer to the bed.

"Let's get it on, Rukia." Ichigo says suggestively, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"Actually, I really wanted to talk-" Rukia starts to say, but Ichigo pounces on her, in the bed.

"Talk later." Ichigo orders her, before he pulls her in for a kiss.

Rukia closes her eyes, to breathe in his clean and wondrous scent, and she almost does what he says, since his naked body is a big weakness on her part…but then she remembers that she sent the hell butterfly to her brother.

"Wait!" Rukia says, and she pushes him away from her.

Ichigo is shocked. Rukia hasn't done that even once, since they started making love. She is usually as excited to get it on as he is. Then he sees the serious look on her face.

"Is something wrong?" Ichigo asks carefully, and Rukia starts to breathe heavily.

"It's too difficult to say it!" Rukia squeals, before she bounces off of his bed, and runs out of his room.

Ichigo scratches his head, looks down at his arousal, and decides that making love will have to wait until he finds out why Rukia's acting like she's losing her mind.

He gets dressed, but by the time he makes it downstairs, Rukia is gone.

"Where did she go?!" Ichigo demands from Yuzu.

"She hurried out the front door! I don't know!" Yuzu says, wondering why he's being so gruff with her.

"Damn it!" Ichigo says, and he runs out the front door.

_I can find her by following her reiatsu. I know it so well._

Ichigo hurries in Rukia's direction, to find out why in the hell she's acting so strange. He gets to the shopping district of Karakura Town, and he senses her inside a huge clothing store.

Ichigo heads in Rukia's direction, and he raises an eyebrow as he passes through the teens and children's section.

_Does my girlfriend really shop in the children's section? Should that make me feel like a pervert or something? I don't think of her as a child, she's way older than me!_

He senses that she is past these areas of the store, and when he finds her, she is in the infants section…Ichigo gulps, and slowly makes his way to her, as she holds a pair of tiny baby shoes in her hand, with an openmouthed expression on her face. She looks up as Ichigo approaches her, and she holds up the shoes, with an emotional expression quickly taking over her beautiful face.

"I want you to buy these." Rukia tells him, softly.

Ichigo gulps again, as he stares at her. He knows damned well that they aren't for her feet, but he still has to be sure…

"Why?" Ichigo whispers, and Rukia smiles at him.

"Because when I held those, I finally realized just how much I'm looking forward to giving birth to our baby." Rukia whispers back, and Ichigo blinks rapidly a few times at that.

"Our baby?" Ichigo echoes, and Rukia grabs his hand, and rests it on her belly.

"Very soon, it will start to show, but hidden in here, is our future offspring." Rukia tells him, more calmly than she thought she could ever do.

Ichigo can't move his hand, and he can't stop staring into her eyes.

"Really?" Ichigo whispers, as hope shines brightly in his eyes.

"We should start thinking of names…" Rukia whispers back, and Ichigo wants to kiss her so badly…he glances around, and sees the only woman in sight is about to stroll past the aisle they're in, so after she passes by, he leans down to smooch her.

"We should think about making you a Kurosaki, rather than a Kuchiki, too." Ichigo tells her, as he grins at her. "If we go home, there's something that I have for you." Ichigo whispers, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"Buy these first." Rukia orders him, and Ichigo nods.

"Okay." Ichigo says simply, and Rukia smiles, as they head for the register, together.

Tatsuki and Inoue pass behind them, and Inoue sees the shoes dangling in Rukia's hands. Her eyes immediately tear up, and she drops the clothes that she had picked out to buy. She turns and runs out of the store, so Tatsuki is forced to drop her things as well, to chase after her friend. Ichigo and Rukia never notice, though.

"I'm so happy." Rukia tells him, as the baby shoes are bagged and handed to them.

"Me too, Rukia." Ichigo says, and he grabs her hand, for the walk home.

It's a quiet walk, since both are picturing what they believe their future child will look like.

"I don't mind if it's a boy or a girl." Rukia says, as they arrive at his house. Ichigo nods.

"I don't either. Go on upstairs and wait for me, I'll be up in a minute." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia nods. She hurries up the stairs before any of his family members can ask her what she bought.

Ichigo wanders into the clinic, and finds his father in his office, hanging up the phone.

"Ichigo! You look like you have a lot on your mind! Haven't I told you it's not cool for you to walk around like you're so burdened, at such a young age?" Isshin asks, and Ichigo smiles a bit.

_His fatherly advice…I hope I'm better at giving it out than him…_

"Actually, I remember what you told me, a few years ago at Mom's grave…that when I fell in love like you did, that I could have the engagement ring that you gave to Mom, to give the girl I love as much as you loved Mom." Ichigo reminds his father, as he turns red from the embarrassment of having to ask his father for the engagement band. "I want to give it to Rukia." Ichigo mutters at the end.

"I know Masaki would have wanted that….wait…Ichigo! You want to get married?!" Isshin says, since it took a second for Ichigo's request to actually sink in. "To Rukia-chan!? This is fantastic! You've finally come to your senses!" Isshin exclaims, as he jumps up happily, and Ichigo blushes harder.

"Um…thanks." Ichigo mutters, and his father takes off at top speed towards his bedroom, but not before he grabs Ichigo by the collar, to drag him along.

"Come on, Ichigo! Don't take too long to marry her either! I'm going to want grandchildren!" Isshin shouts, and Ichigo nearly squeaks.

"Actually…" Ichigo mutters, and his father screeches to a halt, right outside of his bedroom, and he stares at Ichigo as understanding dawns…

"You already knocked her up!? Good job!" Isshin says with a shout of laughter.

"Just give me the fucking ring." Ichigo growls, and he hopes Rukia didn't just hear that…though he doesn't know how she couldn't…

Then they hear a crash coming from upstairs.

"Ni-sama!" Rukia's voice is shrill, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"You're so fucking loud!" Ichigo hisses at his father, as Byakuya appears in front of them.

"What did you say?" Byakuya asks, and Isshin's eyes widen at the sight of the noble captain in his home.

"Excuse me!" Isshin says in a singsong voice, as he slips into his bedroom, leaving Ichigo to deal with a very dangerous looking Byakuya. Rukia shows up a moment later, behind her brother.

"Ni-sama!" Rukia exclaims worriedly, and Ichigo grins nervously.

"I didn't say anything." Ichigo hastily assures Byakuya, but the man's eyes narrow angrily.

Isshin bursts back out of his room, with a beautiful diamond ring between his thumb and index finger…and a digital camera in his other hand.

"Okay, here we go! You! Get out of the way!" Isshin orders, as he shoves Byakuya hard into the wall, while shoving Ichigo at Rukia. "On your knees boy! Now! Give her what every girl dreams of!" Isshin says, and he holds up the camera, while Ichigo turns purple. Rukia's eyes widen too.

_He wants Ichigo to eat me out in front of ni-sama? He's more sick than I thought!_

Isshin slides the ring into Ichigo's hand and kicks him in the back of the knees to bring him to his knees as he had ordered him. Ichigo turns and glares at his father, and Byakuya starts to move forward to put an end to the whole thing. Isshin reaches out with the hand that was holding the ring and slams Byakuya back into the wall.

"Who do-" Byakuya starts to ask, but Isshin glares at him.

"Shhhh!" Isshin hisses at him, and Byakuya's eyes widen.

"I don't know what-" Byakuya says, but Isshin removes his hand from Byakuya's chest and smacks him in the mouth.

"If you can't shut up, then get the hell out." Isshin says in an angry voice, causing Ichigo and Rukia to just both stare, wide eyed.

Byakuya reaches out to grab his zanpakutou, but Isshin removes his sheath from his robes before Byakuya can grab, and then he holds up two fingers.

"What are you-" Byakuya starts to say, but Isshin doesn't listen.

"Way of Binding, Number One! Paralysis!" Isshin says loudly, and Byakuya falls to the ground. Isshin whips some gauze out of his doctor's coat and quickly gags Byakuya.

"Ni-sama…" Rukia says, nervously, and Isshin grins at her.

"Continue, kids!" Isshin says jovially, ready to finally take some pictures.

"Take a picture of him like that, first." Ichigo tells his Dad, and Isshin laughs, as he obliges his son.

"No more stalling." Isshin says, and Ichigo blushes, as he looks up at Rukia, since he hasn't left his knees. Rukia looks down at him, since she hasn't yet even noticed the ring, since she was too worried about her brother.

"Ah…Rukia…I want to be with you for this life, and every lifetime after…will you marry me?" Ichigo asks nervously, since it's hard to be romantic while his father is clicking pictures away on his camera, and getting into Rukia's face for her reaction.

"Yes Ichigo!" Rukia says, and then she grabs Ichigo to kiss him. Byakuya struggles against Isshin's spell, but he's held fast.

"Show your mother!" Isshin says, as he grabs up Rukia and drags Ichigo by his collar, over to Masaki's poster. They leave Byakuya bound, and in the hallway.

Ichigo blushes, and Rukia looks at Ichigo and grabs his hand.

"Thank you, Ichigo." Rukia whispers, and Isshin starts to cry as he sets her down next to Ichigo, who is sitting on the floor after being dragged around.

"Look Masaki! Aren't they wonderful!?" Isshin proclaims, and Ichigo blushes as he looks at his mom's poster.

_I know you'd love Rukia as your third daughter too, wouldn't you, my dear?_

Isshin is all emotional at the moment, and Ichigo stands to drag Rukia out of the house.

"We'll come back when your brother is gone!" Ichigo tells her, and Rukia nods. She hadn't anticipated him learning everything in such a harsh manner.

Byakuya is only able to stay away from Soul Society for one full day, and when he finally gets loose of his bindings, he spends the remainder of his day, chasing Kurosaki Isshin around his neighborhood, while Isshin laughs maniacally.

Finally, when Isshin gets tired of running, shortly before Byakuya is due back, he turns and tackles the nobleman, and then starts to create a powerful destructive spell in his hand.

"Accept them being together, or die here and now." Isshin tells him seriously, and Byakuya swallows, before he nods his head in agreement.

As Byakuya heads back to Soul Society, he thinks for a moment about Ichigo, and then his father…

_Insanely powerful…both father and son…and Rukia is marrying into it._

After a few moments, Byakuya begins to smile.

_Their child will probably be insanely powerful too. There isn't one nobleman in Soul Society that is more suited for her than Kurosaki Ichigo is._


	50. As Requested: Immortal Isshin 6

_**A/N- I had a request to continue Immortal Isshin, with the kids being grown, but I wanted to keep them young in appearance, so they all appear to be about twelve or thirteen, even though they've been alive for decades. This means Yuzu, Karin, and the rest of Ichigo's friends are now in Soul Society. It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**_

_Immortal Isshin 6_

"Dad, I've reached materialization." Takeshi says, and Ichigo smiles at his son.

Not only are they nearly identical in looks, they're zanpakutous are identical too, except that because Takeshi is shorter than Ichigo, his zanpakutou isn't quite as long.

"When did it happen?" Ichigo asks curiously, and his son blushes.

"Mom and I were out in Rukongai, training, when a huge hollow appeared. Mom turned to fight it, but a second one appeared…and then a third. Mom was getting frantic, and I was fighting too, but I took a serious hit. I almost fainted, but I really wanted to protect Mom, a lot. It happened then." Takeshi confesses, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"When did this happen?" Ichigo demands, and Takeshi bows his head, since he can hear anger in his father's voice.

"Earlier today…" Takeshi admits softly, and Ichigo sighs.

"You don't look injured…" Ichigo says, and Takeshi smiles.

"Mom healed me before we left. She was muttering at me, saying I am too much like you." Takeshi says with a small smile, hidden from his father since his head is still down.

"I'm glad you're okay." Ichigo says, and Takeshi meets his father's eyes.

"You're not mad at me?" Takeshi asks in wonder, since it's well known that his father isn't as talented with kidou, as he is with the other skills that Shinigami hone to be effective.

Ichigo raises an eyebrow at his son.

"Why would I be mad?" Ichigo asks, and Takeshi blushes.

"I do want to be like you, Dad, but I want to be good with kidou too! Mom looks so cool when she uses it!" Takeshi defends, and Ichigo laughs.

"I never once said that you didn't need kidou. Your Mom's kidou is impressive, and it's why she makes the perfect lieutenant. She's talented, where I'm lacking." Ichigo says, and Takeshi frowns.

"Is that okay with you?" Takeshi asks, and Ichigo gives him a surprised look.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asks curiously, and Takeshi sighs a bit.

"You're supposed to be the next Captain Commander, if that old fart ever dies…and Grandpa is the King of Soul Society, so it seems like we should all be experts in every single area of Shinigami knowledge." Takeshi says, and Ichigo sighs.

"Your mother tried to teach me kidou once." Ichigo admits, and Takeshi's eyes widen.

"She did?" He asks, and Ichigo nods.

"It ended in disaster. We agreed that I should refrain from trying to learn it, since my reiatsu is so strong that my spells always go out of control." Ichigo says, and Takeshi's eyes widen.

"I didn't know." Takeshi says softly, and Ichigo grins.

"That's because I never told you before. We are going on a mission in the living world in a little while. I want you to prepare. Your mother, sisters, brothers, and aunts will be joining us." Ichigo warns him.

"I don't mind that." Takeshi fibs. He does mind it a little, because his father never lets them fight.

They're always ordered to cover him, not like he ever needs it. His sisters burst in the room noisily.

"Guess what Dad?!" They say it in unison, and Ichigo smiles at his daughters, who have long hair the same color as his mother's hair.

"What?" Ichigo asks with interest, and the girls respond at the same time.

"I reached materialization today!" Kukiko and Takara start to hug one another.

"What? No way!" Takeshi exclaims, and Kukiko grins wickedly at him.

"Upset because we beat you?" She asks, and Takeshi crosses his arms.

"I reached materialization today, too." Takeshi informs them, and their eyes widen.

"It's true, he was just telling me that before you two came in. How did you reach it?" Ichigo asks, and the girls look a bit sheepish.

"We were training with each other, really pushing each other to the limits, and maybe past…just a bit." Takara admits, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"Meaning you were trying to kill each other?" Ichigo questions, and the girls blush.

"Captain Urahara told us that in order to get stronger, we have to be in life or death situations! We both trusted one another to get each other there, and it worked!" Kukiko says with a scowl at her father.

"Congratulations, all of you, really." Ichigo says with a grin, and his kids all grin back, showing the family resemblance.

Rukia steps into the office a moment later, and her daughters rush to tell her the news.

"We reached materialization, Mom!" They say it in unison, and Rukia smiles at them, and then she gives Ichigo a knowing look. She's not surprised that they're all telling her this.

"At this rate, they're all going to reach bankai soon for sure." Rukia says in wonder, and the girls laugh as they hug her.

"Well we _are_ royalty!" Takara says with a bright smile, and Rukia smiles brightly.

Their grandfather has pounded it into their heads, and they really think of themselves as royal princesses. It drives Ichigo a little bit mad sometimes, but Rukia thinks that they should take pride in being who they are, so she doesn't discourage their superior attitudes.

"Yeah, yeah." Ichigo says, with a roll of his eyes.

Kukiko and Takara suddenly round on him, something they've never done before, and Ichigo's eyes widen as his daughters explain what he should already be aware of.

"Our family is the most noble family in Soul Society!" Kukiko says.

"You should take pride in that, just like we do!" Takara continues.

"How can you spit on our royal status?" Kukiko demands, and Takara crosses her arms.

"That's what I want to know too!" Takara says, and they both glare angrily at their father.

Rukia tries not to laugh, and even Takeshi looks a bit surprised at his sisters, for their outburst.

"Is that what it seems like I'm doing?" Ichigo asks Rukia in surprise, and she smiles at him.

"Just a bit, dear." Rukia says, and Ichigo gives his daughters a loving look.

"The fact is, I never had a very high opinion of Soul Society's nobles, your mother was the only one I thought was special. The other nobles didn't make a very good impression on me, so I never thought twice about the fact that we are also nobles. I only found out shortly before I married your mother." Ichigo explains to his kids, and Takara looks interested, as does Takeshi. Kukiko just raises an eyebrow at her father.

"Why didn't you have a good impression of nobles?" Takara asks, since she wants to make sure she doesn't do, whatever his father found unlikable about nobles.

Rukia and Ichigo exchange a look, and Ichigo sees his wife give the barest nod of assent, so that he can tell the kids the truth.

"There was a time, several years before you kids were born, when the nobles of Soul Society wanted to execute your mother. That was why they didn't make the greatest impression on me." Ichigo says simply, but all three kids in the room are now very interested in the details.

"Will you elaborate, Dad? Why did they want to execute Mom?" Takeshi asks quietly, and Ichigo sighs. Rukia decides to give the explanation.

"Because I broke a law of Soul Society, by giving your father my Shinigami powers, when he was a mere human." Rukia responds, and her kids all gape.

"You did something that illegal?" Kukiko gasps with wide eyes. She can't imagine giving her precious powers to anyone.

"If she hadn't, I would have died, and you wouldn't have ever been born." Ichigo reminds his daughter, but his kids all look very upset, that their mother broke such a strict rule.

"Why did you do that, Mom? No offense, Dad, but I couldn't imagine giving my powers to anyone, so I'm curious." Kukiko says, and Ichigo nods his head.

_I can't imagine giving my powers away either…Rukia has always given me so much…_

"Your father…affected me. His face, his attitude, and his foolishness, all affected me, deep in my heart. I couldn't let him die, no matter what." Rukia says simply, but her kids don't seem appeased.

They all appear to be thinking on how to respond, without offending their parents. Takara finally makes a conclusion, about what she's heard.

"Even though it's serious crime, it shouldn't be punishable by execution." Takara says, and this causes Kukiko and Takeshi to nod their agreement.

"You're right, but I believed it was because I was a noble, and they wanted to make an example out of me, that they made that harsh judgment, but it all ended up being a huge scheme." Rukia explains, and Takeshi's eyes widen as he figures it all out.

"Aizen Sousuke?" Takeshi breathes, since he remembers hearing bits and pieces about the war that was fought because of the man.

"Bingo." Rukia says, and her kids all just stare wide eyed.

"I came here to save her, and in doing so, Soul Society learned of Aizen's treachery. Your mother's crimes were pardoned, after everything was brought to light." Ichigo explains, and Takara suddenly smiles at her father.

"How romantic…" Takara whispers, and Ichigo starts to blush.

"Find your brothers, and then you kids go eat. Don't forget, we have a mission tonight." Ichigo says, and his kids smile, before hurrying to follow his orders.

Rukia's hands slide around from behind him, to his chest, where she slips her hands in his Shinigami robes, causing Ichigo to smile broadly. She kisses his ear, and then whispers wondrously into his ear…

"Want to go to the division lodgings and make love?" Rukia asks him, before blowing on his ear.

Ichigo is up in a flash. He whisks his wife to bed before she can change her mind. Rukia holds on tight, and laughs in pleasure, while he makes the trip to their room in just moments.

"All you have to do, is say so…" Ichigo says with a smile, as he tosses his wife into the bed. "…because you have it like that." Ichigo finishes.

She quickly removes her zanpakutou, and he's naked by the time she tosses Sode No Shirayuki to the floor, next to the bed.

"I know I said that we wouldn't have anymore kids…but it seems I've changed my mind." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo smiles.

"I miss holding a baby, too." He admits, and Rukia smiles.

"After all this time, I think I'm ready to give pregnancy another agonizing go…maybe I need to get my head checked, because it seems I can't perfectly remember just how awful it was giving birth to the quintuplets." Rukia says, and Ichigo laughs.

"I think you decided the pain was worth it, when you saw our beautiful kids." Ichigo agrees, as he gets his wife out of her robes.

"So you don't mind?" Rukia says with a smile, and Ichigo laughs.

"Honey, we have thirty bedrooms…and out of our five kids now, they only take up two rooms! I'll never understand why the boys all want to bunk together, or the girls. We can fill up all the bedrooms, if you ever want to." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia grins, as he leans down to kiss her.

His body is still so sexy, muscular, hard, and it turns her on, to no end.

When they pull away, Rukia smiles hugely at him.

"Don't go overboard, Ichigo." Rukia says, since the idea of filling up the bedrooms almost makes her shudder.

"We always go overboard when we make love," Ichigo whispers, before he kisses up and down her neck.

"I meant with expectations on how many rooms we'll fill up." Rukia says, and Ichigo smiles as he kisses her breasts.

"It's all up to you, Rukia." Ichigo tells her solemnly, and Rukia smiles, before she lets him take her away for a magical time, just for the two of them.

_Later That Night…_

"There's nothing here!" Kukiko says, her voice showing her annoyance, and Rukia gives her a look.

"Stay on guard!" Rukia orders her children, and the other Shinigami who have joined, nod their agreement. Sado steps next to Ichigo.

"Something is strange. They should already be here." He says, and Ichigo nods.

"Just stay alert. I feel like something is about to happen." Ichigo says, and his heart pounds wildly.

_Something big…_

Rukia feels the presence, and she whips out Sode No Shirayuki. Ichigo immediately grabs his own zanpakutou. Rukia's senses are never wrong.

Then the space opens up…and Ichigo sees something he hasn't seen in years.

"Menos Grande!" Rukia says in surprise, and Ichigo nods his head.

"Let me kill it, Dad." Takeshi says, suddenly, and Ichigo gives his son a look, before he bites his lip.

"We'll go together, okay?" Ichigo tells Takeshi, and his son smiles broadly.

"I won't let you down!" Takeshi exclaims, and Ichigo looks back at Rukia.

"Cover us." Ichigo says, and Rukia looks back at her other children, and the other Shinigami joining them. Karin and Yuzu are at the front of the lines.

"Everyone! Watch his back!" Rukia shouts, and Ichigo looks at Sado, while giving him a serious look.

"Protect my wife and kids." Ichigo orders him, and Sado nods with a smile.

"Always." Sado agrees, with a nod, and Ichigo smiles as he looks at his son.

"Ready?" Ichigo asks, and Takeshi gives him a wide smile.

"Definitely!" Takeshi replies, and they watch as the Menos Grande steps into the living world.

They both fly towards the Menos at the same time, while a group of weaker hollows materialize behind the rest of the Shinigami. Ichigo never hears his daughter, Kukiko call out the warning to the rest of the Shinigami.

Ichigo and Takeshi slay the Menos in an instant, and then they see the other hollows that the rest of the Shinigami are fighting.

"Watch your back!" Ichigo warns his son, and he flies in, to protect his family, while Takeshi does the same.

Within three minutes, all of the hollow are slain, and there is not even one injury among the Fifth Division. Yuzu is slapping Karin's hand, since she wasted three hollow in one stroke.

Ichigo smiles broadly, to show how proud he is of every member of his division, but Takeshi taps him on the shoulder. Ichigo turns to look at his orange haired son, and Takeshi gives him a big smile.

"Thanks for letting me fight, it meant a lot to me, to be able to fight alongside you, rather than just watching." Takeshi says, and Ichigo smiles at his son.

"I sensed that you were getting sick of covering me all of the time. You've proved yourself to me, and I'll be letting you fight alongside me a lot more often. Will that make you happy?" Ichigo asks, and Takeshi nods his head, brightly.

Yuzu hears Ichigo and she immediately whispers what she heard, to Karin, who also starts to smile broadly, at her brother. If he lets Takeshi fight more, maybe they can get a chance to fight more, too.

"Really happy." Takeshi says, and then Ichigo starts to smirk.

"And how about no longer being the baby of the family, would that make you happy, too?" Ichigo asks, and Takeshi's mouth drops open.

Sado overhears this, and begins to smile widely as well. He's loved watching the kids grow, and he'd love to see if Ichigo and Rukia can produce any girls that look like Rukia.

"You mean…" Takeshi says softly, and Ichigo keeps on smirking.

"We're trying." Ichigo says, and Takeshi slaps his father, proudly on the back.

"Do your best!" Takeshi says, and Ichigo gives his son a horrified look.

"You sounded too much like my father when you said that." Ichigo says, and Takeshi laughs.

"Well, I don't mind, I'll help out." Takeshi says, and Ichigo appears to be very happy with that.

"Thanks. I'll be counting on you." Ichigo says, and Takeshi goes to give his mom a hug.

"I'll be looking out for you, don't worry." Takeshi says, and Rukia smiles, at her son, who is a carbon copy of Ichigo.

"You're just like your father." Rukia says, and Takeshi hugs her again.

"I'm glad." He tells her, and Rukia feels a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Me too." Rukia says, and Takeshi grins.

He moves to his mother's side, and keeps an arm around her, and Ichigo comes to her other side, and does the same. Rukia smiles so very happily, since she feels so very loved. She has her perfect life.

_Being a Kurosaki has brought me nothing but joy and happiness._


	51. As Requested: Down The Road

**A/N-I had a request to do this, and so here it is! It's an elaboration of the Z+SNS chapters. It's dedicated to the person that requested it! Please Enjoy!**

_Down The Road_

"I would have never imagined, when I met you for the first time in my bedroom, that you'd one day be my wife, or that we'd be there to watch, when our oldest daughter gains her zanpakutou." Ichigo says in wonder, and Rukia grins.

He's always said things like this to her, he always seems surprised at how they've been blessed with so much happiness.

Rukia knows better than anybody, that it's easy to accept that your life will always be unhappy, but she realized a long time ago, that her life would end up being a mixture of great happiness, and sadness.

Having to kill Kaien-dono had been very sad, and had caused her years of self-loathing, and inability to truly feel happy, or even genuinely smile. At that time in her life, she had felt an incredible emptiness within herself, feeling like she had lost all of those that she could truly depend on.

Then she found Ichigo. He flip flopped her life all around and brought her a great deal of happiness and joy. More than she could have ever dreamed for.

Now, their daughter, Kimiko, is about to unlock her zanpakutou, as they watch on, holding onto each other's hands.

"I still can't believe you went along with ni-sama, and his demand that in order for us to be married, we had to be here." Rukia says, as she looks around Soul Society.

"Why can't you believe that? I would have done anything, to be with you." Ichigo reminds her, and Rukia smiles.

"I know, but I just figured you'd rather fight his condition, rather than go along with it, without an argument." Rukia says, and Ichigo smiles at her.

"I realized that all I really wanted, was to be a Shinigami, and be with you. It was best to come here, rather than to fight to stay in the living world. No human job could satisfy me." Ichigo says, and Rukia glances up at him.

"And being Ukitake's lieutenant satisfies you?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo nods his head.

"For now, and for a long time, it will be enough. I know everyone expected me to be captain, but I like being in the same division as you. I like not having to deal with the full responsibilities of being a captain, even though I'm aware that I do far more than most lieutenants do around here." Ichigo responds, and Rukia smiles.

"That you do." Rukia agrees. Ichigo looks back at their tiny daughter.

"She is fifteen years old, even though she only appears to be about three. Isn't this early, for her to be gaining her zanpakutou?" Ichigo asks his wife, even as he remembers Yachiru was quite young looking, to be a lieutenant.

"She is young, but she's ready." Rukia says, and they watch intently. Both of them, widen their eyes, as their zanpakutous materialize, without being asked to.

"She's finally ready to awaken." Sode No Shirayuki says, as she holds Zangetsu's hand.

This has freaked both Rukia and Ichigo out, for years. Their zanpakutous are the first in Soul Society, to actively pursue their love for one another, out in the open. They realized it their wedding night, when they tossed their zanpakutous down, and were interrupted from their play, since their zanpakutous came out kissing and hugging one another.

Ichigo and Rukia had listened, wide eyed, as their zanpakutous admitted their love for one another, and proceeded to make out in front of the newly married couple. Ichigo and Rukia had still made love, but it had been a bit strange, because their zanpakutous, did the same…and they were all in the same room together.

Rukia and Ichigo had spent the next day, researching if that had happened in any past case, recorded in Soul Society, and had quickly learned that this was a first.

"Why are you so interested in this?" Ichigo asks suspiciously, but Zangetsu practically ignores him.

"I'd like to know the answer to that too." Rukia says to Sode No Shirayuki.

Rukia isn't ignored, like Ichigo was. Sode No Shirayuki smiles fondly, at Rukia.

"What parent wouldn't want to be present, at the birth, or in our case, awakening, of their child?" Sode No Shirayuki asks, and this causes the married couple's eyes to widen.

"What?!" Ichigo asks, and Rukia nods her head, as she stares at them.

Their attention is no longer on their orange haired, blue eyed, petite daughter. They can't tear their eyes away from the materialized Zangetsu and Sode No Shirayuki, cuddling.

"She's here!" Zangetsu booms, causing Ichigo and Rukia to look back at their daughter, who has a zanpakutou, in her hands.

"It's a full time released zanpakutou!" Rukia says in amazement, as her daughter's thick zanpakutou looks similar in shape to her father's, but is completely white, like her mother's.

"She's strong, like you!" Sode No Shirayuki says to Zangetsu excitedly.

"But she's beautiful, like you." Zangetsu says, and they hurry over to Kimiko and her zanpakutou.

"Her name…is Tsuyatsuya Hisakata Yuki" Kimiko says very softly, as she stares at her zanpakutou, which is an obvious mixture of the types of zanpakutous that her parents have.

Both Sode No Shirayuki and Zangetsu smile at the appearance of Kimiko's zanpakutou, while Ichigo and Rukia are still gaping.

"Lets go to her inner world, to see what she looks like in spirit form!" Sode No Shirayuki says, causing more confusion between Ichigo and Rukia.

"Hey! You can go to my daughter's inner world?" Ichigo demands, and their zanpakutous ignore them…instead they disappear.

Ichigo closes his eyes, but Zangetsu is not in his inner world. He opens his eyes and looks worriedly at Rukia.

"Ichigo…I don't understand why our zanpakutous have this ability." Rukia whispers, but Ukitake come up behind them to scare the shit out of them, since he was watching the whole thing.

"This is the first time in history that this has happened, because there was never a substitute Shinigami that was able to stay alive long enough to produce children with the Shinigami that gave them their powers. One of the reasons transference of powers to a human is illegal, is because it creates an unbreakable connection, between the Shinigami, and human. The connection has been passed down to your daughter, allowing for new and unique occurrences to happen." Ukitake explains.

"But…our zanpakutous, aren't with us right now!" Ichigo exclaims, and he wonders how useful he'd be with the blade right now, since Zangetsu is chilling out in Kimiko's inner world.

"I'm not worried, they'd come back immediately if there were a danger." Ukitake says confidently.

"It's still weird…" Rukia mutters, and Ukitake smiles at her.

"It's so rare for two people to be so in love, that it cuts all the way to the very deepest part of their soul. What you two have is special, wondrous, and so rare, that it's never been known to happen before. It's a beautiful thing to see, really." Ukitake says, causing Ichigo and Rukia to smile lovingly at one another.

They know their love runs deep, but it touches them deeply that everyone else knows it, too.

_In Kimiko's Inner World…_

"I'm so happy that you've awakened!" Sode No Shirayuki says to their daughter, who has long black hair, and piercing blue eyes.

She looks up at them.

"So it's you that I felt, since the moment I awakened. I felt like I was being called to." She says to them, and her parents smile at her.

"We are your mother and father. We will always protect you, and Kimiko. We will also help you to become much stronger." Zangetsu says, and their daughter smiles at them.

"I guess we'll be working together, a lot then." Their daughter says, with a welcoming smile.

Sode No Shirayuki steps forward to hug her daughter, and Zangetsu moves to hug them both, after that.

"You can always count on us." Sode No Shirayuki whispers, and Zangetsu nods.

"Always." Zangetsu repeats firmly.

Tsuyatsuya Hisakata Yuki, realizes that the love of her family, is as important to Kimiko, as it seems to be to herself, and all she can do, is smile gratefully, since with their help, she and Kimiko can become very strong.

"Thank you." She whispers to them, as they all hug each other tightly.

_Nobody can deny the bond that our family shares, it runs deep, in all of us._

**A/N- Kimiko means- Empress child**

**Tsuyatsuya Hisakata Yuki means- Bright Moon Snow**


	52. As Requested: Wager

_**A/N- This is a requested piece, and just so you all know, I really loved the idea, and I hope you enjoy it! This is dedicated to the person who requested it!**_

_Wager_

"It's only a matter of time, before Ichigo finally notices that Orihime is in love with him!" Rangiku says with a smile, to Yoruichi, who can't help but to gape at the big breasted woman.

"Are you insane? Ichigo will never notice Orihime's feelings, because he's completely in love with-" Yoruichi starts to say, but Kisuke finishes for her.

"Kuchiki-san." Urahara says, and Yoruichi nods her agreement.

"That's right, Kisuke, but please don't interrupt me. Ichigo has already made it quite clear, which girl he keeps in his heart." Yoruichi says, and Matsumoto laughs.

"You should know better than that, Yoruichi-san! You as well as I, know how our womanly figures capture men's attention. Ichigo is a man, and he won't be able to ignore Orihime's womanly attributes forever!" Rangiku says, with confidence, and Yoruichi laughs.

"You've never been rejected, have you?" Yoruichi asks, and Rangiku laughs a bit.

"Actually…I was rejected once…by Ichigo." Rangiku says, turning a bit pink. Yoruichi lets out a shout of laughter, and Kisuke struggles to contain his.

"You were rejected by Ichigo, yet you think somehow he'll notice Orihime for her feminine attributes?" Yoruichi asks, and Rangiku puts her hands on her hips.

"He won't stay shy forever! The moment he realizes he wants to get intimate, he'll prefer Orihime to Kuchiki-san!" Rangiku says, still confident.

"Care to place a wager on that?" Yoruichi asks, slyly, and Rangiku's eyes narrow.

"What kind of wager?" Rangiku asks, and Yoruichi smiles wickedly.

"If he gets together with Orihime first, then you win. If he gets together with Kuchiki first, we win." Yoruichi says, indicating herself and Urahara.

"What are the stakes?" Rangiku asks suspiciously, and Yoruichi laughs.

"What would you like them to be?" Yoruichi asks, and Rangiku grins hugely.

"If I win, you both have to spend an entire week, showing me all of the fun things that the living world has to offer!" Rangiku says excitedly, and Yoruichi laughs.

"Done! But if we win, you owe us seven trips back and forth, whether or not we need to get information back to Soul Society, or if we want you to bring something from Soul Society. You would be expected to take care of what we're asking for, the moment you were off duty." Yoruichi says, with crossed arms, and Rangiku nods her head.

"That seems fair. Is there something from Soul Society that you're missing?" Rangiku asks, and Yoruichi smiles.

"There are many things from Soul Society, that I miss." Yoruichi says honestly, and Rangiku laughs.

"I don't know why, the living world is far more interesting, in my opinion. It's hard to think of being sent here as a punishment." Rangiku says, and Yoruichi crosses her arms.

"It's hard to understand unless you've been through it." Yoruichi says, and Rangiku laughs.

"Don't underestimate my desire to have lots of fun! I'll be the one winning this bet!" Rangiku says, with a grin, as she stands to leave.

"Dream on! You can't make someone be with someone else, if their heart isn't in it!" Yoruichi says, and Rangiku laughs.

"We'll see." Rangiku says, and Yoruichi smiles as she nods.

"You're right, we will." Yoruichi says, and Rangiku heads out the door.

_I guess I'll have to give Orihime a hand._

"Yoruichi-san, is this a good idea? Getting involved in Kurosaki-san's personal life like this…" Kisuke says, and Yoruichi smiles.

"It's not like we'll have to do anything. With Matsumoto pushing Orihime at Ichigo, he's going to have to confront his feelings head on. They'll see firsthand, how he only has Kuchiki Rukia, in his heart." Yoruichi says confidently, and Kisuke breathes a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank goodness! I was worried you'd want us to get involved in some sort of scheme to get Kuchiki-san and Kurosaki-san together!" Urahara says breathlessly, and Yoruichi laughs.

"All we have to do, is watch. Ichigo won't let us down. He never has, before." Yoruichi says, and Urahara nods.

"This should be interesting." Kisuke admits, and Yoruichi smiles.

_At The Kurosaki Residence…_

Ichigo and Rukia are sitting together, in his room, bored. Rukia isn't looking at Ichigo, but he's looking at her. She's the nicest thing on his eyes, in his small bedroom, so his gaze is always drawn towards her.

The rest of his family is fast asleep, and they're not even tired. It's late, it's dark outside, and it's very quiet.

Suddenly, Rukia glances right at him, and Ichigo quickly looks away, embarrassed that she caught him staring.

"Ichigo…do you like being a substitute Shinigami?" Rukia asks, causing him to turn his gaze back at her, in surprise.

"Of course! I mean…I like it most of the time." Ichigo says, and he pauses for a moment not adding the rest.

_When you're with me, I like it._

"That's good." Rukia says, in the silence.

"What about you? Do you like stationed here in the living world with me, to kill hollows?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia raises an eyebrow.

"You should already know that I do." Rukia says simply, before she looks down at her dress, to smooth out a few wrinkles in it.

Ichigo lets out a very quiet sigh of relief, careful not to call attention to it.

_It's always good, to know for sure, that you're happy to be here with me. I'm such an ass…if I don't make a move soon, will she forever consider me, just a friend?_

"I wouldn't like it if you weren't happy." Ichigo says, blushing a bit, since he wonders if he's been getting too obvious with his affection…

_I went through hell and back, just to save her…I achieved bankai, because of my desire to protect her…and I learned to control my hollow powers, all because I wanted to protect Rukia. I guess I've always been a bit obvious…in my actions._

"Your happiness is important to me, too." Rukia says, though she doesn't stop to think about why that is.

Ichigo smiles, and blushes, before he lays back down. He can say no more. He can't let himself get so greedy that he accidentally pushes her away. One of these days, she's going to scream at him, and tell him that he loves her, and when she does, he won't bother to deny it. But until she does that, he'll keep his silence.

"I'm not happy right now…I'm bored as hell." Ichigo finally mumbles, causing Rukia to look up at him.

He's staring at his ceiling, and so she stands, and sits on the edge of his bed.

"What could we do, that's fun?" Rukia asks him seriously, and Ichigo turns his face away from her, as he turns a deep shade of red.

_Why did she have to ask it that way? I can't say what I just envisioned!_

"I don't know." Ichigo's voice is a croak, and Rukia lets out a disappointed sigh.

"I thought for sure, that you would have an idea." Rukia says, and Ichigo slowly looks back towards her, but she isn't looking at him. She's looking out the window, at the moon.

"I do have an idea…but I doubt you'd go for it." Ichigo mutters at her, and Rukia's gaze is on his own, instantly.

"Are you trying to say I'm no fun? Tell me your idea!" Rukia says, pinning him with a hurt glare.

"I won't tell you…but I'll let you make the decision. Come on!" Ichigo says with a smile, as Ichigo sits up and stands at the window.

"Where are we going?" Rukia asks curiously.

"You'll see." Ichigo says secretively, and Rukia nods.

"Fine. You'll see, that I'm a lot of fun!" Rukia says with a gleam in her eyes, and she joins him at the window.

_Am I nuts? I must be insane, to be taking Rukia to do this! What will she say, when she realizes what my idea is?_

They begin to walk down the road briskly, but they are cut off by Rangiku and Inoue.

"Ichigo!" Rangiku smiles hugely as she greets him, and then she smiles at Rukia.

"Rangiku-san! What are you two doing out, this late?" Ichigo asks in surprise. He hadn't expected to see anyone he knew, on the way to their destination.

"I was hoping to have a private talk with Kuchiki-san, and ask you to hang out with Orihime, while I do!" Rangiku says breezily, and Ichigo nods his head.

Rangiku immediately pulls Rukia away, to chat about a made up mission that she'll be departing on soon, while Inoue and Ichigo are left alone together.

"Kurosaki-kun…" Inoue says, but then she stops. Ichigo looks at her.

"What?" Ichigo asks, and Inoue sighs, before she looks at him, to tell him what Rangiku-san encouraged her to tell him.

"I don't know if you know this, but you are the reason that I have my powers…and I know I've never thanked you for that before, and so I want to thank you, now." Inoue says, blushing.

Ichigo is a bit surprised. He had no idea that he played any part, in Inoue gaining her powers.

"I didn't do anything special, there's no reason to thank me." Ichigo tells her, as he scratches his head. "Especially since you've been such a big help, healing me, Rukia and the others." Ichigo says, and Inoue smiles.

"I've always felt so weak." Inoue admits, and Ichigo shakes his head.

"We all have different strengths. You have very strong healing powers, and I know everyone appreciates your abilities." Ichigo says, and Inoue smiles.

"That's kind of you to say." Inoue says, still smiling brightly, and Ichigo gives her a look that shows he doesn't understand.

"I'm not being kind, I'm being forthright. When Rukia was attacked by Grimmjow…I…you…" Ichigo blushes, since he can't even say, what he wants to say. "I was just glad when she was okay." Ichigo mutters in an embarrassed tone, and Inoue nods.

"I could see, the worry in your eyes when she was hurt. It was very intense." Inoue points out, and Ichigo blushes again, and refuses to look her in the eyes.

"Was it?" Ichigo says evasively, and Inoue nods.

"It was different from the look you gave when you saw me and Sado-kun injured." Inoue tells him, and Ichigo swings his gaze back at her.

_That's because I love her! But I can't say that!_

"Oh." Ichigo mumbles, before he looks back in the direction of Rukia and Rangiku.

_How long are they going to fucking take, yapping? I never liked being alone with Inoue!_

"Kurosaki-kun…I always wondered…if you ever noticed me." Inoue finally gets it out, and she blushes afterwards. Ichigo gives her a perplexed look.

"Noticed you how?" Ichigo asks, not understanding her meaning.

Inoue sucks in a breath. She didn't think she'd have to explain…

"You know…_noticed_ me." Inoue stresses, and she blushes again, before she looks away. "In a romantic way." Inoue whispers, and Ichigo nearly chokes on his own spit.

"What?!" Ichigo asks, turning red.

"I've noticed you…and I wondered if it was the same for you, with me." Inoue says, and Ichigo starts to feel like he wants to run away.

"Um…sorry…not like _that,_ I haven't noticed you." Ichigo tells her, as he looks at her directly.

"What about now?" Inoue asks, and Ichigo backs a step away from her.

"No…I have only ever thought of you as a friend." Ichigo says, as he takes another step back.

Inoue feels like an idiot. She doesn't know how to rectify this situation, and so she gives him a bright smile.

"Don't worry about it too much, okay? I just want you to know, that if you do start noticing me, I'm open to it, okay?" Inoue asks, and Ichigo just stares at her, knowing in his mind that it will never happen, but not wanting to hurt his friend's feelings more than what he's sure he already has.

"Um…sure." Ichigo says, and he takes another step back.

"Rangiku-san! I'm going to head home!" Inoue calls out, and Rangiku holds up her hand.

"Wait one more minute, and I'll come with you!" Rangiku yells out, and Inoue nods, even though she feels mortified.

"Okay!" Inoue yells, but then she looks back at Ichigo. "You're just not into romance, are you, Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue asks, and Ichigo gives her a look that lets her know, her question is not appreciated.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asks in a low voice, as he crosses his arms.

"I don't blame you, since you had to constantly think about fighting to save everyone." Inoue says, and Ichigo glowers at her.

"To be honest, I don't think you know me very well at all, even if you are my friend." Ichigo points out crossly, since he doesn't want to tell her that his mind is consumed with thought of Rukia, or that he looks up to Shakespeare.

Inoue is surprised by his tone, and more surprised that he looks angry at her.

_Maybe I probed too much…_

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you." Inoue says quickly, and Rangiku is suddenly at Orihime's side. Ichigo sighs in an aggravated manner as Rangiku quickly drags the girl off, to hear the details.

Rukia is back at Ichigo's side too.

"Sorry we got held up, we're still going to do something fun, aren't we?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo can feel the corners of his mouth wanting to pop up, but he refrains from smiling.

"Yeah, come on." Ichigo says, and he turns to continue on their way, with Rukia right next to him.

_I'm ready to stop pretending Rukia means nothing to me, and I'm going to take a chance, tonight._

When they arrive at the school, Rukia looks dubiously at Ichigo.

"I'm starting to wonder, about your idea of fun." Rukia tells him, but Ichigo just smiles.

"There might be security cameras here now, so leave your body here." Ichigo says, before he pops her out of her body with his substitute license.

He does the same with his own body, and then he drags them into the bushes, to hide them.

"Mind telling me what we're doing?" Rukia asks with a raised eyebrow, as they walk onto the school grounds.

"We're going to do something fun." Ichigo says, but he'll say no more, and so Rukia is forced to run after him, as they slip around the back of the school, to where the pool is.

Rukia realizes she's never swum in the school pool before, and then her eyes widen to huge proportions, as she notices Ichigo is disrobing…_right in front of her!_ Her mouth falls open, and she's only capable of gawking for a long moment.

"Ichigo…what are you doing?" Rukia finally asks, her voice cracking from her nerves.

Ichigo gives her a lopsided, blushing grin, as he lifts his head to look at her, butt ass naked.

"I thought it would be fun, to go skinny dipping." Ichigo tells her, before he dives naked into the pool.

Rukia breathes nervously for a moment, but then she smiles, even as a blush covers her face.

Ichigo resurfaces, and looks at Rukia, who looks like she's in a state of shock, even though she's smiling a bit…and blushing.

"I can't believe you just disrobed so casually in front of me…" Rukia says, in a tight voice, and Ichigo blushes again.

"Aren't you going to get in?" Ichigo asks, not wanting to address his naked state until she's naked, too.

Rukia gulps, and stares at him. She doesn't really feel comfortable disrobing, with him watching, and so she crosses her arms.

"Turn around. I don't like to be watched as I undress." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo obliges her. He can wait…until she's completely undressed, to look at her.

Rukia hurries to get out of her robes, in case Ichigo gets it into his head that he wants to peek. She manages to get it done without any difficulties, and then she hurries to jump into the pool.

Ichigo turns around, when he hears the splash of her entering the pool.

_I can't believe Rukia's naked in the pool with me! What in the hell am I supposed to do now?! Think! Think! Damn it, think of something…I'm so fucking stupid! Why didn't I think of a damned plan, before I jumped in here?_

Rukia surfaces in the water, and looks at Ichigo, who looks like he's confused about something. She decides to splash him, and when she does, he gets water in his mouth. She laughs as he sputters and coughs for a second, before giving her a wickedly evil look.

"You shouldn't have done that…" Ichigo says, before he swims towards her, and Rukia shrieks, before she starts to swim away from him.

She feels her entire body is electrically charged, as Ichigo grabs a hold on her ankle, and pulls her towards him…

"Ah! Ichigo!" Rukia squawks, as she splashes helplessly in place.

"I've got you now." Ichigo tells her as he grabs a hold of her other ankle, and yanks her body towards his.

Her butt pops up in the air, and Ichigo grins wickedly, before letting go of her ankles, to swat her rear end, though not hard.

Rukia flips over to face him, and treads the water, as she blushes.

"Don't do that!" Rukia tells him, and Ichigo laughs.

"I'm just playing with you, Rukia…isn't it fun?" Ichigo asks, with a happy look, and she can see…the happiness completely reaches his eyes. She smiles, before she nods her head in agreement.

"Yeah…it _is_ fun." Rukia says, before she reaches around to pinch his butt. Ichigo splashes at her, the moment she's successful, and Rukia laughs.

They continue to splash one another, until somehow, Rukia winds up in his arms. Ichigo gives her an intense look, before staring down, into her big blue eyes.

"Rukia…" Ichigo says softly, before leaning down to kiss her.

Their play has gotten him so turned on…and yet all he can do, is hold her close, and kiss her.

_It's so much…feeling her naked body against mine, and getting to kiss her like this…she can't possibly see me as only a friend._

When Ichigo finally pulls away, Rukia stares up into his eyes.

"That's an interesting way, of going about telling a girl, that you love her." Rukia says, with a sly smile, since she could feel all of his emotions, in his kiss.

"Didn't you already know?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia smiles at his perception.

"Yeah…I always knew." Rukia admits, and Ichigo pulls her in for another kiss, before letting her go, to ask the most important question.

"Why didn't you do anything about it?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia blushes.

"I guess I'm as bad as you are with that kind of thing." Rukia says, and Ichigo kisses her again. When he pulls away, he holds her tight.

"We'll get better at it…together." Ichigo tells her warmly, and Rukia smiles as she is held tight against his body.

_So this is what it feels like, to hold the one you love…_

Rukia soaks in the feeling, and loves it for all the wonder that it brings to her entire soul.

_The Next Day…_

"You owe us." Yoruichi says, and Rangiku nods.

"It seems he never saw Orihime as more than a friend." Rangiku says with a disbelieving shake of her head. "He sure isn't like all of the other men I've known in my life." Rangiku adds, and Yoruichi laughs.

"You're right about that." Yoruichi says, as she looks at Kisuke, and then winks at him.

"Poor Orihime is just a wreck…any ideas on how I can cheer her up?" Rangiku asks the pair, and Yoruichi looks a little bit guilty about that.

"Just tell her the truth, that just because one door closes, doesn't mean another won't open. Her life doesn't begin and end with Ichigo. Remind her that there are tons of guys who find her attractive, and that she should open her heart up to love with someone else. Taking her out to shop, or eat chocolate and ice cream is always an option, too." Yoruichi says, and Rangiku nods.

"I helped to make her depressed, so I should help cheer her up. Thanks for your ideas, and just call me, if you need me to make a trip back and forth for you." Rangiku says, before she flounces out the door.

Yoruichi grins at Kisuke, who is smiling back at her.

"Kurosaki didn't have a half bad idea, to go skinny dipping with Kuchiki-san, but if he ever finds out that you saw him…he'd freak out." Kisuke says, and Yoruichi laughs.

"He'll never know." Yoruichi says, before flying at him to kiss him.

Kisuke kisses her back, and smiles at her when she pulls away. He sees Ichigo and Rukia standing in the shop, with bright red faces, glaring.

"He already knows…" Kisuke whispers, and Yoruichi turns around to see the couple, looking quite angry.

"You watched us, Yoruichi-san!?" Ichigo demands, and Yoruichi winks at him.

"Sorry! I left right after the two of you kissed!" Yoruichi says, before she uses shunpo to disappear. Rukia and Ichigo both grumble in frustration.

Urahara smothers a laugh as Rukia quickly buys the necessary items that she came to the shop for, and the couple leaves quickly.

Ichigo looks at Rukia…

"I'm sorry…I didn't know we were being watched…" Ichigo mumbles, and Rukia just nods her head.

"She said she left after we kissed, but do you think she saw us make love?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo blushes as he grabs her hand and squeezes it.

"I really hope she was being honest. That was supposed to be just between me and you." Ichigo whispers, and Rukia nods.

_It was so special, exciting, and perfect. Even if she saw, I'm glad we did it._


	53. As Requested: Family Vacation

**A/N- I had a request to continue on, from chapters ****19, 33, 38, 43, and 47. There were no specifics asked for, just a continuation. The girls are sixteen, their Ayumu is fifteen, and Katsuo is thirteen. It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Family Vacation_

"A heavenly week at the beach! It will be so fun! Maybe I can finally meet the right boy to kiss!" Mika says, in a squeal, though she whispers the last part to her sister.

"I can't believe you haven't kissed anybody yet." Rini says, with a look of amazement, and Mika rolls her eyes.

"I never met a guy that made me want to feel his lips on mine. You haven't kissed anybody since Yuudai, so I don't know why you're even saying anything. You didn't even want to kiss him!" Mika points out, and Rini glares at her, looking identical to their mother.

"At least I'm not sixteen and never been kissed!" Rini says, sticking her tongue out at her twin.

"You might as well be!" Mika says back, and the girls both glare at one another.

"No, I can honestly say I've kissed before, unlike you." Rini says, and Mika decides to end it, because otherwise, they'll just go round and round with the argument.

"Wouldn't it be fantastic if I met a really hot foreign guy to share my first kiss with on vacation?! I would always remember and treasure, that kind of first kiss." Mika says, causing Rini to cross her arms and glare some more at her sister.

"Are you trying to knock my first kiss with that remark?" Rini asks suspiciously, and Mika shakes her head no.

"I have always felt bad, that your first kiss was with a boy, that you didn't even want to kiss. Too bad he's been in love with you, for three years!" Mika says, feeling sorry for her sister.

"He's become the world's biggest bookworm. All he does is study, and ogle me. I'm sick of it." Rini mutters, and she really is.

"Yeah…sometimes he ogles me, thinking I'm you…and it makes me uncomfortable, too." Mika says, sympathizing with her twin.

"I wish there were a boy hot enough in school for me to concentrate on, but they're all…blah." Rini mutters, and Mika nods.

"I know what you mean…" Mika says, and the girls fall into silence.

_At The Beach…_

Ichigo is not as happy as he thought he'd be. Not only are his beautiful daughters getting gawked at by nearly every teenage male that sees them, his wife has been getting a lot of stares, too.

_Even though she's hanging out with the boys, and playing with them…guys still stop and stare at her! It's pissing me the fuck off!_

Rukia can tell that Ichigo is simmering mad, under the surface, and she knows him well enough, to know why.

"Ichigo! Ayumu and Katsuo want to walk along the beach, to see if they can find anything cool washed up on shore. Do you want to come with us?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo looks over at the girls, who are sunbathing. Then he looks back at his wife.

_Damn it! Even I can't be in two places at once!_

"I'll stay here." Ichigo mutters. He knows his wife won't let strange men hit on her, but he doesn't know that, when it comes to his daughters.

Rukia and the boys, walk away together, laughing, while Ichigo sulks on his beach towel.

Ichigo suddenly notices a few guys, who are staring at the girls, and talking each other into coming over to talk to them. Ichigo sits up, and throws them a death glare, but they never notice him.

When they start to slowly move closer, Ichigo glances at his daughters, and realizes that they have no clue, that they're being so avidly watched. Their eyes are closed. He hopes they're sleeping. Rini is a light sleeper though, unlike her younger sister.

Ichigo stands up, and positions himself standing, in front of his daughters, careful not to get in the way of their sun, and get their attention.

He crosses his arms, and gives the group of boys a threatening look, which they do notice this time, since Ichigo is blocking some of their view of his daughters.

One of the boys though, is very bold, and he keeps coming closer. Ichigo narrows his eyes, and feels himself getting very angry that the kid is pushing the issue.

"Hey old man, stop being a pervert." The kid says, and Ichigo sneers at the kid.

"These are my daughters. I'm no pervert." Ichigo warns him, as he doesn't lose the dangerous look in his eyes.

"Hey! Who called my father a pervert!?" Rini suddenly sits up, and the guy looks hopeful.

"He did." Ichigo says, pointing at the kid.

Rini stands up, and gets in front of her father, crossing her arms.

"My Dad is no pervert." Rini says in an angry voice, and the kid holds up his hands.

"Hey, I didn't know! You look nothing alike!" The kid defends himself, and Rini's eyes are flashing angrily.

"I don't care. Apologize. Now." Rini orders him, and the kid looks up at Ichigo.

"Sorry." The kid mutters, and Rini nods her head in satisfaction, that the kid didn't argue.

"Now scram…or else I'll cheer my father on, as he kicks your ass." Rini orders him, and the kid blushes, before he turns towards his friends, who immediately begin teasing him, for being completely rejected.

"Rini!" Ichigo is surprised. His daughter had sounded just like Rukia, and had looked just like her, when her eyes had flashed so angrily.

Rini looks at her shocked father, and she feels bad, that he was called a pervert.

"That wasn't right. I'm sorry he called you that, Dad." Rini says, and he gives her father a hug.

Ichigo is wide eyed…yes he'd noticed his girls were young women, but now it's practically impossible to deny it anymore.

_She's a freaking mini Rukia._

"It's okay. I've been called plenty of names in my life." Ichigo tells her, and Rini bites her lips.

"Well…you don't deserve that." Rini tells him, and Ichigo smiles at his oldest daughter.

"Want to wake up Mika, and swim in the ocean?" Ichigo asks, and Rini smiles.

"Sure, Dad. I'll get her up." Rini says, and Ichigo goes over to their bag, where they have a blow up inner tube.

Mika always takes awhile to wake up, and she could sleep through a sonic boom even if it occurred next her window at night. Ichigo is nearly finished blowing the tube up, by the time Rini manages to get Mika, standing. Mika yawns, and grumbles for a moment.

"I want to tan!" Mika whines, and Rini glares at her.

"Didn't you know you tan better in the water?" Rini asks, and Mika gives her a doubtful look.

"Where did you hear that?" Mika asks, and Rini puts her hands on her hips.

"It's in all of the teen magazines. It has to do with the water droplets drawing in the sun even more. It's silly to say you don't want to go in the water, just because you want to tan." Rini informs her sister, who finally nods her agreement.

By this time, Ichigo has finished with the tube, and he grabs it up under one arm.

"Come on, girls!" Ichigo says, and the girls follow him out to the water.

Once in the water, they both climb onto the tube, and hang onto one another, while Ichigo pulls them out, to wait for a decent wave.

When Rukia finally returns back with the boys, she finally sees her husband, laughing and smiling as he hangs out with the girls, in the ocean. There's a little girl with her and the boys, who is definitely sweet on Katsuo, but the Ichigo, Rini, and Mika never notice while they're in the ocean, that the youngest family member seems to have acquired a vacation girlfriend.

"We're going out for dinner tonight!" Ichigo exclaims as he and the girls, walk back to their towels, a couple of hours later.

Ichigo sees Rukia grinning at him, and he isn't sure why she looks so sly, at first. When he sees his youngest boy with a girl, he suddenly feels panicky.

_All of our kids are practically grown up!_

"What's wrong, Ichigo?" Rukia asks, when she catches sight of his forlorn expression.

"I'm old." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia bursts out into laughter.

"Why do you say that?" Rukia inquires, and Ichigo sulks.

"Because all of our kids are practically grown up! Even Katsuo…" Ichigo says, and Rukia takes pity on him.

"That's not exactly true…" Rukia tells him, and Ichigo gives her a look of confusion.

"Like hell! Even Katsuo seems grown up, holding hands with that little girl…where are her parents, anyways?! There's no way Rini or Mika would be doing that, at that age!" Ichigo mutters, and Rukia nearly laughs, since he didn't pick up on her subtlety.

"Maybe you'll feel young again, in about seven months." Rukia tells him, with a big fat smile on her face, and Ichigo gets it, this time.

"Rukia! You're…pregnant?" Ichigo asks, in wonder, and Rukia nods. Ichigo starts to smile, and then he leans over to kiss his wife on the beach.

"I was going to wait until after vacation to tell you…" Rukia whispers, but Ichigo just smiles at her.

"I'm glad you didn't…thanks for making me feel young again." Ichigo says, before he kisses her again. "I'm going to make you come at least five times tonight." Ichigo promises her, getting a blush out of his wife.

Rini and Mika look over at their parents, acting like love birds, and they both smile at one another.

_Our parents are so cute!_


	54. As Requested: Seeing Happiness

**A/N-I had a request to do the feelings of the IchiRuki relationship from specific other points of view. Two in particular. Masaki, and Inoue. I hope you all enjoy it, the chapter is dedicated to the person that requested it.**

_Seeing Happiness_

Inoue is very glad that Tatsuki-chan had karate club after school, because she wants to be alone today. Inoue cannot get over the mind crushing depression that has hit her harder than a one thousand pound weight being dropped on her head from three stories above.

On most days, she can bottle up her depression, and ignore it. Not today, though.

_Because Kuchiki-san came back…and I was there to witness her arrival...not to mention the obvious effect that it had on him. He lit up like the sun._

She sighs, as she readjusts her school bag on her shoulder to walk more comfortably.

_It was like they were the only two in the room…and the way he stared at her…I've dreamed for Kurosaki-kun to stare at me in that exact way for years!_

Inoue looks down, and feels the emotions start to get at her. She hates it when she feels this way…

_She had all of his attention…_

Inoue picks up her pace. It hurts so much to think these things, but she just can't help it.

_He barely took his eyes off of her, and he looked so happy when the hollow alert came at the same time as the bell. He looked happy, to have Kuchiki-san all to himself. His eyes lit up…they lit up…because he was so happy._

Inoue begins to run. The pain follows her though. She can never outrun it, no matter how hard she tries.

_He looked like…he looked at her like…he wanted to kiss and hold her. He doesn't look at me that way, though. Never once…and I know…that he loves her._

Inoue feels the tears begin to flow…but she's nearly home, so she keeps her head down, and hurries the rest of the way there, but she loses her balance and crashes to the ground. Inoue stays on the ground crying for a minute, before she stands up, and brushes herself off. The scratches on her skin from falling don't even register, because her heart is in far more pain.

_Kurosaki-kun loves Kuchiki-san…and I-_

"Hime! I've been searching all over the place for you!" Chizuru sings, and Inoue's eyes widen in surprise.

_Chizuru-chan…I hope she doesn't try to make a move right now…I can't take it today…I can't deal with it today!_

"Chizuru-chan!" Inoue says in surprise, but Chizuru sees her tears, and immediately loses her bright smile.

Chizuru looks concerned, as she study's Inoue's pained expression. It's an expression she knows well…

Suddenly, Inoue finds herself wrapped up in a big bear hug…Chizuru is hugging her tightly.

"Don't cry, Hime. You're so beautiful when you smile." Chizuru tells her, and Inoue sobs into her friend's shoulder.

_Is this how Kurosaki-kun would feel, if I hugged him? Comforted that someone cares, but disappointed that it's not the one he really wants to be holding?_

* * *

Ichigo smiles, as he sleeps…and his arms tighten around Rukia's small frame. He dreams…of his mother.

She is smiling at him, in the same way that she used to, and she looks so proud…so happy…

"Ichigo…I have been kept alive in your heart. All of this time, a piece of me has remained with you, because of my own powers. Don't look surprised, you are powerful because you were meant to be." Masaki tells him, and Ichigo stares at her…

"Mom…" Ichigo says in a soft voice, but she smiles brightly again.

"Shhhh. Just listen to me, Ichigo. You are the light of my life, my precious son, and I have only wanted your happiness…it's all I ever wanted for you. I have seen, how you have finally found happiness. You are a man, and words cannot express how happy I am that you found _her_." Masaki says, as she stares at her son, love shining in her eyes.

Suddenly his mother disappears, and he can only hear her as though he's hearing her thoughts. It's more than comforting, to be able to concentrate on his mother's voice, even if it does have him very choked up.

_I am grateful to her, for showing you the light that shines in you. You have found something wonderful and beautiful in Rukia. She took all of your misery, and rung it out of you. She is like the cocoon that was responsible for the amazing change in you, from caterpillar to butterfly._

_Stay with her, Ichigo. Your heart is strong, so I know you can have the kind of love and happiness that you both deserve, in each other. No other girl makes you shine, like you do, when you're with her._

_I know she is responsible, for this wondrous change in you, and for that, I love her like a daughter. Your father does too, you know. She brought that beautiful smile back to your face, in full force._

_I know Ichigo, that she is your soul mate. It's made me happy to see you, to see your happiness. Seeing happiness in you and your sisters was all I ever hoped for._

Ichigo's eyes pop open, and he snuggles closer to Rukia. His world changer…his best friend…his savior…and his soul mate.

_She's beautiful, giving, and she's perfect for me. She's my future. _

Ichigo smiles when Rukia flips in his arms, and he pushes the hair away from her pretty face. She'll always come back to him. Always. He refuses to doubt her.

Ichigo gently kisses her forehead, and relishes the feel of her skin against his own. Everything about it appeals to his senses, because she is the only girl that can make his mind go into a complete jumble, just from seeing her face after an absence.

Rukia lets out a happy sigh, as she sleeps, and all Ichigo can do is smile, before he closes his eyes, to fall back asleep.

_When I look at Rukia…I feel and see happiness._


	55. As Requested: Rukia's Drawings 2

**A/N- I had a request to continue, from Rukia's Drawings, and so here it is! This is dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Rukia's Drawings 2_

Ichigo wonders why he must be punished so. It was an incredibly long day, starting with the fact that he stupidly admitted that he loves Rukia's drawings.

He flops in his bed, and recalls the incidents of the day.

First, Rukia had chased after him, on the way to school, teasing him the whole way, about loving her drawings. She didn't stop when they were in class either. No, the moment he sat in his seat, prepared to ignore her, she began to busily draw.

Ichigo paid her no attention as class got started, and she paid no attention to class (her usual style) as she created a brand new masterpiece.

Then, in the middle of class, with the sensei facing the board, Rukia decided to show him what she had created. It was bad enough, having to look at what she drew, but of course Mizuiro caught sight of it, and cracked up into laughter.

She drew one bunny holding up a picture of another bunny, with her name, and an arrow at the bunny with the drawing. Then…she drew a bunny that was supposed to represent him, since his name was written with an arrow pointing at it, and the damned thing has hearts all around him, and she actually managed to give his rabbit a lovesick expression, and she drew a line from the Ichigo's rabbit's eyes to the drawing of Rukia's rabbit.

The sensei had not appreciated the disturbance, and as punishment, had taped Rukia's drawing to the board, but what the sensei didn't understand, was that Rukia was tickled pink by this consequence.

It was a punishment for Ichigo, to have himself represented as a lovesick rabbit for all of the class to see.

Ichigo had been able to swipe Rukia's picture off the board as they were exiting the room to start lunch period.

Did that stop her?! No…not Rukia…she just started on a new drawing, meant to make him blush. She saved this one for lunchtime, and because they were eating alone, she was able to laugh as loud as she wanted to, at the expression on his face, of the Ichigo rabbit doing a striptease for the Rukia rabbit.

_You would think that she would have gotten her fill of tormenting me, but then she kept it up all afternoon. _

He didn't think she'd be able to embarrass him further than what she had already managed to do, but he should have known that Rukia is capable of anything.

Rukia's final drawing of the day was definitely the most embarrassing…for Ichigo. Again with the damned rabbit representatives, she gave the Rukia rabbit a whip, and a speech bubble that said 'please me, or else!'

Did she stop there? No, the poor little Ichigo rabbit was restrained! His rabbit paws were tied firmly behind his back, plus the rabbit was wearing what looked like her attempt at a leather mask, with eyeholes and a mouth hole that zipped shut. Ichigo was reduced to feeling sorry for himself the rabbit, as well as himself for real, if Rukia has any such plans to do as she had drawn.

He had found a great deal of satisfaction, in destroying that picture, which of course had caused a huge argument.

"What did you do that for?!" Rukia had yelled at him, and Ichigo had glared at her.

"It will be a cold day in hell, when I'm okay with the idea of a picture like that, just floating around!" Ichigo had snapped at her, and Rukia shook her fist at him.

"Don't think I can't make such a phenomenon possible!" Rukia had shouted back, and Ichigo had rolled his eyes.

"Let me rephrase that…I will never be okay with a picture like that, even existing!" Ichigo had snapped, and Rukia's eyes had flashed.

"You know…you're lucky! If this world had an invention, that would allow me to make tons of duplicates of that picture, I'd make a hundred of them, and pass them around school!" Rukia had threatened, which had immediately made Ichigo turn white.

_Dear lord…please don't let her learn what a copy machine is…please!_

"That's not fucking funny!" Ichigo had finally yelled after a long moment of horror of the idea of copies of her drawing being passed around school…

Rukia laughed in his face, after he said that.

"Then how come I'm laughing?" Rukia had asked him, before Ichigo had crossed his arms and looked away.

Then he had stomped home, and run up to his room.

_Why did I have to admit that I love her drawings this morning?!_

He's beginning to dread them…now that he realizes she has no shame, in how she draws the rabbits that represent them.

It's very confusing, since Ichigo feels like she wants something from him, but he's not sure what it could be…and if it's what the third picture depicted, then she's out of luck.

_If I'm ever going to be pleasing you, then you had better believe that I'd want to see what I was doing! I would want to look at you!_

Ichigo growls…as he wonders if that third picture had any particular meaning…was it one of her fantasies?

_Oh god I hope not!_

"She's already told me she'll always be drawing…but I hope it's not more stuff like that!" Ichigo mutters under his breath, before he flips over in his bed.

His door slowly opens, and Rukia peeks in.

"Are you still mad?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo throws a glare at her.

"I wasn't mad." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia steps all the way in, before she gives a disbelieving chuckle.

"I know when you're mad, Ichigo." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo frowns.

"Rukia…you don't really want to do _that_ to me, do you?" Ichigo finally asks, deciding to get what's bugging him, off of his chest.

"Do what?" Rukia asks innocently, earning her another glare from Ichigo.

"Don't play coy with me, you know what! The mask…the tied up hands…" Ichigo trails off, and Rukia lets out a shout of laughter.

"Is that what's been bugging you? Don't worry, I'd get your consent before doing something like that." Rukia tries to reassure him, but Ichigo just feels panicked.

"Why would you want to do that to me?!" Ichigo asks, looking very perplexed, and Rukia winks at him.

"To torture you with pleasure seems like it might be fun." Rukia informs him, and Ichigo feels his face heat up.

_When she says it like that, I kind of like the way it sounds…why does she have to do this to me?!_

"How long have you been thinking about stuff like that?" Ichigo questions, and he actually manages to make her flush in embarrassment.

"None of your beeswax!" Rukia tells him, and suddenly it feels like the day is shifting in his favor.

"Tell me." Ichigo says persistently, but Rukia shakes her head stubbornly, and crosses her arms.

"You'd have to do more than admit that you love my drawings, to get an answer out of me!" Rukia informs him, before she turns around and hurries to leave his room.

_Again with that feeling…what does she want from me?_

Ichigo suddenly feels how his inexperience with women is affecting him currently, but then he shakes that thought away.

_I have two little sisters. I understand the opposite sex well enough!_

An hour later, Ichigo still hasn't figured it out, and he's starting to feel like a reject. He finally gives up, to go find Rukia. Maybe she'll be kind enough to explain it to him…

When he finds her in Karin and Yuzu's room, his sisters are also there.

"Rukia, can we talk?" Ichigo asks, nervously, and Rukia looks up at him.

"Sure." Rukia stands to follow him out of the room.

They walk back into his bedroom, and Ichigo takes a deep breath, before he finally blurts out what he's thinking.

"What do you want from me?! It feels like you want something, but I don't know what." Ichigo tells her honestly, and Rukia is surprised…then angry.

"You're an idiot, Ichigo." Rukia informs him in a hard voice, and Ichigo glares at her.

"You don't have to be a fucking bitch about it. I'm asking you what you want, so don't be mad that you don't get it, if you can't even tell me what it is!" Ichigo tells her, since he's a bit ticked off that she's responded this way to him.

Rukia's eyes flash angrily at him, and Ichigo is taken aback.

_What's with her?!_

"I just wanted you to admit you loved me!" Rukia snaps at him, and Ichigo's mouth falls open.

"_That's_ why you drew those god awful pictures?" Ichigo asks in wonder, before he gets decked in the gut.

Rukia stalks out of his room, and Ichigo sits at his desk, to think.

_I don't know why I have to say it, when she already knows…_

Then an idea pops into his head. He grabs a sheet of paper, works on it for less than a minute, and hurries to go locate Rukia. She's back in Karin and Yuzu's room. To Ichigo's relief, his sisters aren't there, this time around.

"What do you want, Ichigo?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo slaps the paper in her hand.

"I didn't want to compete with you, so I did this." Ichigo says, and Rukia looks at the stick figure, with the spiky hair added, and a second stick figure with her hairdo stands next to his stick figure.

Their names are written beneath the stick figures, like she had done with her drawings, and the stick figure with the spiky hair has a speech bubble.

_Rukia, I love you!_

Rukia clutches the picture, tight in her hand. Then she grabs Ichigo into a tight hug. He hugs her back, finally feeling like maybe he's made her happy. She whispers into his ear.

"I'm saving this to show our kids." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo turns bright red.

_I guess that means she loves me, too._


	56. As Requested: The Night It Changed

**A/N-I had a request to do an IchiRuki story, that includes a blindfold…and that idea just made me smile! I decided to incorporate this request into a story that I've been wanting to do for over a month, so please enjoy!**

_The Night It Changed_

"Rukia, take Inoue home, and then go home and wait for me." Ichigo tells her in a tense voice, and Rukia looks confused.

Ichigo can see that he's about to get into a fight with one of his old rivals, and he doesn't want Rukia to see him fighting over the color of his hair. He doesn't want to talk about how unaccepted he generally is among people who aren't his classmates. He also doesn't want to involve her in it.

"But Tatsuki asked us to walk Inoue home, since she had her club! Why aren't you coming with us?" Rukia questions, but Ichigo gives her a pleading look.

"Go." Ichigo says in a low voice.

_Because I don't want you to see what's about to go down._

Rukia can see he's serious, and so she does as he asks, even as she throws a look over her shoulder. She and Inoue turn left, while Ichigo continues straight.

"What in the hell is wrong with him?" Rukia mutters to Inoue, who gives her a sad smile.

"You and Kurosaki-kun are so close…" Inoue says hesitantly.

_That's an understatement, in the past couple of months, their relationship has obviously grown and progressed to a romantic level._

"Yeah…" Rukia says, as she turns red. She's surprised it's taken this long for anyone to say something to her about it, actually.

"I've noticed it for a long time, but things changed a lot, right after his birthday." Inoue presses, and Rukia blushes harder.

"You're very observant, Inoue." Rukia tells her, and Inoue smiles back at her.

"Please tell me, Kuchiki-san! Tell me how you became his girlfriend!" Inoue pleads, and Rukia claps her hand over Inoue's mouth.

"Okay, okay…just…don't call me his girlfriend. Okay?" Rukia asks, and that gets Inoue very confused. They're obviously a couple…

Rukia thinks quickly, about how much she should reveal, to Inoue. They're more than boyfriend and girlfriend, and Ichigo hadn't wanted to label it like that. She knows that she can't tell Inoue everything, because some of it is too personal to share.

"Okay…" Inoue says doubtfully, and Rukia smiles at her in gratitude.

"Well, the day it all changed was actually his birthday." Rukia tells Inoue.

_Flashback_

"Rukia! Don't you think you've had enough cake?!" Ichigo snaps at her, glaring. Isshin laughs, which makes Ichigo glare at him next.

Rukia is wearing the super cool party hat that his dad had purchased for the family. Only his father, Yuzu, and Rukia are wearing them, though. Karin and Ichigo both refused.

"Enough? How's that possible? It's so delicious!" Rukia informs him, as she sets her third piece on her plate.

Ichigo glares at her. Not only did she not have a present for him, she's gobbling down _his_ birthday cake!

"Thanks, Rukia-chan!" Yuzu says with a proud smile, since she baked the cake.

"This is probably the best cake, I've ever tasted, in my entire life!" Rukia announces, and Ichigo finally simmers down, and admires the expression on Rukia's face, as she marvels at his sister's baking abilities.

"Really? How kind of you to say so!" Yuzu exclaims, unable to stop smiling. "I love cooking for you, Rukia-chan! You're always so appreciative!" Yuzu admits, and Rukia smiles at her.

"You're so talented. Maybe some time, you can give me a few lessons, in the kitchen. I'd love to learn from the best!" Rukia tells her, and Yuzu actually blushes.

"I'd be happy to give you cooking lessons, Rukia-chan!" Yuzu announces, and Ichigo watches as Yuzu and Rukia smile as they talk to one another.

"We'll have tasty cake on your birthday too, Rukia-chan!" Isshin says, making Rukia very happy.

_Later…_

"Finally…" Ichigo mutters as they head up the stairs, since he's had enough of family time.

Rukia smiles secretively, since she knows he thinks she doesn't have a gift for him. Not true, she just wanted to do it privately. She originally only had one gift, but she'd added a second part when she'd heard Ichigo's father wake him up and tease him about being sixteen and never been kissed.

The moment they walk into his room, Ichigo goes and sits on the bed, and Rukia walks over to the closet and quickly pulls out a blindfold. She walks over to Ichigo and puts it on him, before he can protest. The moment it's on though, he begins to do just that.

"Rukia! What is this?! What are-" Ichigo started to talk, but Rukia cuts him off.

"Don't take it off, Ichigo. I'm about to give you your birthday gift." Rukia informs him, and he pulls his hand away from the blindfold.

Rukia readjusts it, so that he can't see, and then she walks back to the closet. She pulls out a medium sized box, and walks over to him.

"I still don't understand why I need a blindfold for this…" Ichigo grumbles, and Rukia smiles.

"Shut up, Ichigo." Rukia tells him, before she sets the box in his hands, and then leans forward to kiss him.

Ichigo flinches, when he feels her lips against his, but he doesn't pull away. Instead he kisses her back.

When Rukia pulls away, Ichigo lifts off the blindfold, and blushes as he looks at her.

"That was the best present I have ever gotten, for my birthday." Ichigo admits to her, and Rukia smiles.

"I'm glad you liked it." Rukia says, as Ichigo opens the box, looks at what's inside, and then glares at her.

"What in the hell is this? Why would you get me this, Rukia?!" Ichigo demands, as he looks at the very large chocolate rabbit inside the box.

"I have always been told that you should get gifts for people that you would like to receive." Rukia announces, and Ichigo smirks at her.

"And this is the worst present I have ever gotten for my birthday." Ichigo informs her, motioning towards the rabbit.

"But you like chocolate!" Rukia objects as she pouts, and Ichigo smiles.

"I still love it though, because it was a gift from the heart, from you." Ichigo says, and Rukia can't stop herself from smiling at that mushy confession.

_End Flashback_

"That's pretty much it." Rukia lies, since she's not going to tell Inoue that things got far more intimate than that, the night of his sixteenth birthday…nor is she going to tell Inoue how it's been hot and stayed hot for that long.

Inoue gives her a wistful smile.

"That is such a nice story…" Inoue whispers, and Rukia grins.

They're nearly to Inoue's apartment, when Ichigo catches up to them, though he ran, the whole way.

"Sorry, Rukia. I hurried to catch up to you!" Ichigo says, as he breathes hard from running as fast as he could in his body.

If he'd been in soul form he could have been so much faster. Rukia looks at him, and smiles, as does Inoue.

"Kurosaki-kun! Kuchiki-san was just telling me about what happened the night of your birthday!" Inoue tells him, and Rukia winces, as Ichigo reacts.

"Rukia! You told her we did _that_ on my birthday!?" Ichigo says in a horrified voice.

"That?" Inoue echoes, and then she begins to blush. Rukia can tell, that Inoue has figured it out.

"No…but you just did." Rukia informs him, and Inoue's mouth opens and closes for a moment. Ichigo turns bright red.

_Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san…went all the way!_

"We're here!" Inoue says, trying to hide the hurt in her voice.

Ichigo and Rukia both look relieved that they can escape her, after Ichigo's blunder. They hurry away from her, and Ichigo hisses at Rukia.

"What exactly did you tell her?!" Ichigo demands, and Rukia throws him a sideways glare.

"She noticed when things changed between us! I only told her that I loved your sister's cake, then I blindfolded you, kissed you, and gave you your present! That was all I admitted to!" Rukia snaps back at him, and Ichigo puts his head down.

"Oh…" Ichigo says, feeling like an idiot.

"I didn't tell her that we used the blindfold again for foreplay, and I definitely didn't tell her about our oath to each other, either." Rukia informs him, and Ichigo grabs her hand.

"You can tell her about our oath…if you want to. I meant every word. One day, I'll marry you." Ichigo says warmly, and Rukia smiles.

"One day, I'll let you marry me." Rukia smiles, and Ichigo squeezes her hand.

"Sorry for being an idiot." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia smiles.

_It's okay, because I love this idiot._


	57. Only A Game

_**A/N-One of my own ideas, please enjoy!**_

_Only A Game_

When Rukia researched American football, she really liked the sport. She watched the games, and gained a basic understanding, quite quickly, on how the rough game was played.

While she was watching some online clips of some of the best football passes and catches in the past twenty years, Ichigo had come in, and quickly found himself interested as well.

It became their hobby, all summer long, to completely understand the sport, since it had a lot of rules, and sometimes seemed complicated. Ichigo also learned that Rukia was fluent in English. She also could read in English, which Ichigo found surprising.

Rukia didn't bother to tell him that she could speak twelve different languages, since the Kuchiki library held extensive documents on language translations. Since she often times had nothing to do, once she got home to the mansion, she slowly learned many different languages. She found it easy, to pick up the languages impressively fast.

They've finally got a grasp on the sport, and Rukia is now online, looking for something amusing to watch. Suddenly Ichigo's ears perk up, when he hears Rukia mumble.

"What is touch football?" She says, and Ichigo walks behind her, to find out.

"What?" Ichigo asks, looking at the screen.

"In my neighborhood, we played touch football and it was so much fun…" Rukia mutters, and then Ichigo sighs.

"This is someone's blog." Ichigo says, and Rukia nods.

"So kids can play? I wonder what the rules are for playing this version. I'm going to study it." Rukia says, and Ichigo watches as she searches for the rules to touch football.

"Scoot over…" Ichigo mutters, and he forces Rukia to the side, to share the chair with her half and half.

"No tackling. Two hand touch equals a tackle, an all around quarterback, and a ten second blitz…at least four players to a team." Rukia says, and Ichigo finds himself wishing that they could play.

"So basically you'd need nine people." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia nods.

"Do you think we could gather enough for two teams? I want to play against you!" Rukia says excitedly, and Ichigo frowns at her.

"Shouldn't you want to play on my team?" Ichigo asks her, prepared to shove her off the chair completely, or pull her into his lap…depending on her answer.

"We're always doing things as a team…this time, I want to face you. One of us will come home a winner, and the other a loser." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo shoves her off the chair.

"That's the thanks I get after letting you live in my home?!" Ichigo grumbles at her as she sputters indignantly.

Rukia's up in an instant, tickling him, trying to make him fall off the chair. She yells at him while she does that, making Ichigo flinch and cringe as her fingers work their way into his armpits.

"Hey! You like me staying here, and your father said it's okay! Don't throw that in my face. Are you ticklish there Ichigo? How about there?!" Rukia demands, as she unmercifully finds his most ticklish spot in the center of his armpits.

"Stop it Rukia! Please! I'm begging you!" Ichigo pleads with her, and Rukia laughs at him.

"No way! You pushed me off the chair!" Rukia snaps, and Ichigo can't stop laughing like a moron, since she's tickling him.

"Because what you said, bugged me!" Ichigo says, in between the laughs.

Rukia stops, and sits tentatively in his lap, as he gets a hold of himself.

"Ichigo…it's touch football. It's a game. You should know, that when it truly matters, I'm always on your side." Rukia reminds him, and then she stands up, embarrassed.

"Why'd you go?" Ichigo asks, before he blushes and looks away…

Every time something like this happens, they both get embarrassed, and don't know what to say. In the heat of an argument, they've found themselves getting progressively more touchy feely, without even consciously trying to do so. Ichigo knows that he's in unknown territory, asking her why she got off his lap, but it felt so right, with her there.

"You're right. It will be easier for us both to look at the computer if I'm there." Rukia says, saving him from further embarrassment.

Rukia steps back over, and sits on one of his knees, and Ichigo resists the urge to put his arms around her waist.

"I'm thinking about it, and I do think we can gather seven other people to play." Ichigo says thoughtfully, and Rukia smiles in his lap.

"We have to pick a score to play up to." Rukia tells him, as she reads the page further.

"Play to thirty." Ichigo says absentmindedly.

"I can call Renji, he should be due for a day off. Who else do you think we could get to join us?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo grins at her as she turns her head to look at him. Their faces are so close…

"Sado could probably be the quarterback, and then for the other five, I'd say Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro, maybe Ishida…though that might take some convincing, and…" Ichigo trails off.

"Inoue?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo scoffs.

"I don't think so. She's too weak." Ichigo says, and Kon hops up on the desk, glaring at them.

"Did it ever occur to you, that I might want to play?" Kon asks, and Rukia looks as surprised as Ichigo.

"I could probably get Kon a gigai from Urahara's shop, and he'd have to agree to run at human speed…" Rukia says, and Ichigo nods.

"It's better than Inoue." Ichigo says, grimacing at the idea of her crying if someone accidentally hurt her.

"We'll organize a game then," Rukia says excitedly, and she jumps off his lap to run into the closet to grab her phone.

_The Next Saturday…_

"I love that we're playing with girls!" Keigo says excitedly, and Rukia frowns at that.

"Rukia and I will be captains, since we arranged this, and we'll pick our teams. Rukia, why don't you go first." Ichigo says, and Rukia smiles.

"Renji!" Rukia calls, and Ichigo scowls.

"Tatsuki!" Ichigo says, figuring she's the best choice of the remaining people.

"Keigo!" Rukia calls out, not wanting him to be chasing after her during the game.

"Ishida!" Ichigo calls out, not wanting Kon on his team to be able to tackle Rukia, and Ishida pushes up his glasses and walks over to Ichigo's side. Ichigo hopes Rukia doesn't pick Mizuiro…

"Kon!" Rukia calls out next, and that leaves Mizuiro with Ichigo. Kon looks like a regular guy today. Short brown hair, brown eyes, and a slim build.

"Am I that bad at sports?" Mizuiro asks, feeling hurt that the unknown guy and Tatsuki were picked before him.

"No, I'm just that good." Tatsuki assures him, and Mizuiro nods unhappily.

_At least none of my girlfriends were around to see this…_

Keigo is no longer giddy. The only girl he wanted to tackle, is on his team. He already knows that if he touches Tatsuki the wrong way, she'll kick his ass.

Ichigo and Rukia had already explained the rules of the game beforehand, at Ichigo's house, where they had shown the group some clips of real football so that they didn't act like they were clueless when it came time to play.

Everyone had chuckled at the idea of Sado getting tackled, even after ten seconds, but now they're ready to play, and get the game under way.

"Since Rukia got to pick first, we should get to be offense first." Ichigo says, and Rukia nods her head in agreement.

"That sounds fair." Rukia agrees, and Ichigo reaches out to shake her hand.

"Good luck." Ichigo says, and Rukia shakes his hand, squeezing it as she does.

"You too…you're going to need it." Rukia tells him with a wink, and Ichigo narrows his eyes as she turns her back on him, and goes to her team.

_I'm not going to take it easy, when I come after you, Rukia._

Ichigo walks over to his team, and they huddle up with Sado.

"What's the first play?" Sado asks, and Ichigo looks at Tatsuki.

"Throw to Tatsuki, then Ishida, Mizuiro, and I will create a path." Ichigo suggests.

Everyone nods their head, and they line up on the makeshift field.

Rukia looks at her team, and she smiles.

"Renji, you take care of Ichigo, I'll cover Tatsuki, Keigo can cover Mizuiro, and Kon can cover Ishida." Rukia suggests, and everyone nods.

They all head over to the field, and the first play quickly gets underway.

Sado is right on target with his throw to Tatsuki, but Rukia's plan ended up working out really well, since Renji managed to push Ichigo off balance enough to allow Rukia to slide by and put two hands on Tatsuki, before she moved too far down the field. It was enough for a first down though, so the groups huddle up again.

Ichigo figures Rukia will have Renji cover him for most of the game, it only makes sense that she would, but all the same, he wishes she would cover him, herself.

The next ball is thrown to Ishida, and he makes it very close to the goal line before Kon gets two hands on his back.

The next one, Ichigo runs in for a touchdown, before anyone can stop him, and then Tatsuki kicks for the extra point, with Sado holding the ball nervously. She kicks dead on, making it seven to nothing.

They regroup and line up again. Ichigo quickly tells his team that he'll cover Rukia. He has Tatsuki cover Renji, Mizuiro covering Keigo, and Ishida covering Kon.

Ichigo waits patiently for his chance, since Kon and Renji get the first two passes.

Finally, Sado tosses the ball to Rukia, and Ichigo runs at top speed towards Rukia, with the full intent to tackle her. Ichigo's spun around by Renji though, and when he shakes Renji off, to run after Rukia again, Renji falls into Tatsuki, and they crash to the ground.

Rukia runs it in for the touchdown, and spikes the ball while dancing around.

"I scored…a touchdown!" Rukia sings happily, and Ichigo narrows his eyes at her.

_Next time I'll get her, for sure._

Rukia's team manages to force a turnover on downs, which aggravates the hell out of Ichigo. Then they manage to score, without giving the ball to Rukia even once, which only makes him more anxious to get a chance to get his hands on her, before the game ends.

"Fourteen to seven!" Rukia calls out with superiority, and Ichigo scowls, and his team just barely manages to get their touchdown, on their turn.

They get the extra point to tie the game, and Rukia's team is on the offense again.

Ichigo's eyes don't leave Rukia as Sado pulls back to throw. When she catches the ball, Ichigo is actually surprised that she got the play, and he quickly runs her down. He doesn't bother to slow at all, since she's running as quickly as her feet will carry her. He knows, that if he slows down, she'll take off on him.

Ichigo gets two hands on Rukia and spins her around as they slow to a stop. Rukia's foot catches in a groove in the grass, and she begins to pitch backwards. Ichigo goes with her, from the momentum of the unexpected fall, and he gets his hands behind her head, before the back of her head can strike the ground.

He lands hard on top of her, and he decides…

_This is my favorite sport, ever!_

Rukia grunts.

"Ichigo…get off of me…" Rukia's voice is strained, and Ichigo rolls off of her after hesitating only half a second.

"Second down!" Ichigo says triumphantly, and he offers Rukia a hand up.

"Thanks…" Rukia mutters, as she returns to her team, wondering why it felt so exciting to have Ichigo on top of her like he was.

Kon looks at her worriedly.

"Are you okay?" Kon asks, and Rukia nods.

"Okay we need either a first down, or a touchdown." Rukia tells them, and Kon smiles.

"Throw to me." Kon says, and Rukia nods.

"Okay, everyone else okay with that?" Rukia asks, and her team nods their agreement.

The game proceeds, with both teams scoring, each time they're up. Ichigo tackles Rukia several times, and soon everyone realizes…that he's trying to tackle her. Even Rukia notices…

_Is he still mad that I wanted to be on separate teams, and now he's trying to punish me?_

That doesn't stop Rukia's team from pulling off a touchdown, on every try, even though they have many close calls where they're on their third down before they move the ball enough for a first down.

Ichigo is completely let down, when Rukia's team scores thirty five points, to their twenty eight. It all came down to that one turnover on downs, that they shouldn't have given away, not that they'd tried to.

Everyone is ready to go home to shower after the game, and Ichigo is fairly quiet as he walks with Rukia.

"Winner gets to shower first!" Rukia says excitedly, and Ichigo begins to grumble.

"Enough out of you." Ichigo says, looking away from her.

"Ichigo…I noticed you were really trying to get me out there. You have to remember, it was only a game." Rukia tells him, before she smiles.

Ichigo gives her a dubious look.

_I wound up on top of you several times, and that's how you interpreted it?_

Upon getting home, Rukia gathers fresh clothes, for when she gets out of the shower, and heads into the bathroom.

After checking around for his absent father, Ichigo passes by the door, and grins evilly as he slips inside the bathroom, and gathers up her clean clothes, along with her dirty ones, and then slides out of the bathroom. Rukia never notices this act, until she gets out.

"Where are my clothes!? Did Yuzu come and grab them while I was showering?" Rukia mutters, as she throws on the towel.

She opens the door, to find Ichigo lounging against the wall opposite of the bathroom door.

"Oi…Rukia." Ichigo says, and then he steps forward quickly, and yanks her towel off of her.

He pulls it back and Rukia quickly turns to the side to cover her breasts, before she hobbles back to the bathroom, attempting to keep him from seeing her naked anymore.

"Ichigo! What in the hell are you thinking!?" Rukia squeaks, and Ichigo steps towards her, causing her to grab the bathroom door to try to slam it closed.

Ichigo forces his way in, before she can get the door fully closed, and he throws the towel around his neck.

"Damn Rukia…" Ichigo says, as his eyes slide appreciatively over her body. Rukia blushes.

"This is completely inappropriate!" Rukia hisses, and Ichigo can't stop looking at her body, to stare her in the eyes as she talks…this is a first for him…he usually has no problem staring into her gorgeous eyes.

"Forget appropriate! Rukia…" Ichigo says, wondering how in the hell he's supposed to tell her he's here to claim her for his own, without sounding like some sort of rapist.

Rukia feels very exposed, and he is holding the towel with his left hand, as he stares at her…but then he reaches out with his other hand and sets it on her warm shoulder.

"Ichigo…" Rukia's eyes tear up in mortification.

It's bright, so every scar and blemish is free for him to view…this only happened one other time to her, in Rukongai…a boy interrupted her bath in the lake and tried to climb in with her. She had been so terrified, but she had gotten away, and Renji had kicked the kids ass nearly to death, the very next day.

"Don't cry…why are you crying?" Ichigo asks softly, as he draws her to him, and hugs her.

Rukia can smell his sweat, and his body against hers, and she attempts to gain enough control over herself to speak.

"I didn't want you to see me naked." Rukia says pitifully, and Ichigo tightens his hold.

"Why in the hell not? You're perfect…" Ichigo whispers, and Rukia's eyes widen at that obvious lie.

"No…I'm underdeveloped. My breasts are too small, my hips are too narrow, and I don't instill lust unless the man is the type who likes them young." Rukia mutters into his chest, and Ichigo holds her closer, wanting to make her feel better.

"Where would you get an idea like that?" Ichigo asks her quietly, and Rukia doesn't want him to let go…and see the front of her so clearly again.

"It's something I was told once…" Rukia whispers, and Ichigo hugs her tightly.

"Well they were lying. I've never been into any girl…besides you." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia's eyes widen. "Your breasts…are perfect. Your hips…are perfect. Your face, is lovely, and I've wanted you for a long time now." Ichigo admits, wanting to take away all of her pain.

"You're the only one who thinks so…" Rukia mutters, and Ichigo leans down to kiss the top of her wet head.

"I'm the only one who needs to think so." Ichigo tells her, before he pulls the towel from around his neck to drape her back with it, and then he pulls away.

Rukia quickly adjusts the towel so that she's covered, but Ichigo is still blocking the door. He removes his shirt…and she can't tear her eyes away.

There are battle scars alright. She wonders how many he got, trying to save her life. Ichigo watches her closely as he puts his hand on the button if his pants and undoes it.

Rukia's heart is pounding, as his hand goes to his zipper and then he pulls down his pants and boxers at the same time, revealing his fully aroused state to her.

Rukia breathes deeply as she looks him up and down…she just wants to get closer…

"Ichigo…" Rukia mutters as she gazes at his body.

"You want me too, don't you, Rukia?" Ichigo asks her in an aching voice, filled with vulnerability. It's just not like him, and it surprises her.

"…Yeah…" Rukia says hesitantly, not knowing what it means to be honest with him like this, or what he'll do next.

_He's certainly unpredictable today._

"Wait for me…" Ichigo says, and he slips around her, to get into the shower…giving her plenty of time to wait for him, and think about what it means, to want him, knowing he wants her back.

Rukia stays put like he said, and when his hand reaches out for the second towel, he steps out of the tub and rubs the towel vigorously over his head, creating an interesting motion with his penis that Rukia can't help but to stare at.

_He's such a sexy man…_

Rukia is totally nervous as he stares at her, and slowly dries the rest of his body, in her view. Everything is changing in a huge way today…and she's not sure how to view it. Sure they've gotten closer, and more touchy feely over the recent months…but this is a lot different.

Ichigo steps towards her, knowing that maybe he's pushed things too far for one day, but not regretting it since he got to see her looking as beautiful as he could ever hope to see her, without any clothing masking any of her beauty.

Rukia takes a step, hesitantly towards him, and slowly slides her arms around his waist. Knowing he wants her, gives her the freedom to do this. She tilts her face towards his, and he leans down, to kiss her lips.

"We can change things slowly…after today. Right now…I want you too." Rukia tells him as they pull away.

Ichigo isn't about to let her change her mind, so he grabs her hand and runs with her into his bedroom.

_I want you too, Rukia…you'll see._


	58. As Requested: Feminine Issues 3

**A/N-I had a request, to continue Feminine Issues from chapters 36 and 45. It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Feminine Issues 3_

Rukia smiles, as she wakes up in bed with Ichigo, their naked bodies touching as he holds her close, around the waist.

_He's such an animal…_

Rukia wouldn't have it any other way. His enthusiasm to make love, perfectly matches her own.

_Who'd have ever thought it would be this easy to make love instead of argue?_

Ever since she and Ichigo started making love, his stress level has gone way down, and his patience has gone way up. She didn't realize how their making love affected him on every level until she noticed the difference after a week in. Well...two weeks in, except they hadn't gone that far while she'd been on her period.

It seems Ichigo's newest favorite thing to do, is to be touching her, in some form or another. He can't seem to get enough of it, and neither can she. She's found that certain pleasures in life, can only be obtained, in his arms.

Rukia wonders how Ichigo is able to take her to the moon and back, with his constant loving ways. He's already earned the title of the world's biggest sweetheart, and sometimes, she just wants to lock herself up in his bedroom for an entire day, just to soak in the feel of his love.

"Rukia…" Ichigo's voice murmurs, as he begins to stir. He yanks her up closer against himself, and he breathes in the scent of her hair.

"It's morning…I should get out of your bed before your father busts in here." Rukia says, and Ichigo won't let her go.

"Haven't you noticed? He never bothers me when you're in here with me. I'm not letting you out of bed." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia grins.

She had noticed, but she had wanted to see how long it took him to notice. Plus, with as crazy as his father is, you can never be sure he won't revert to his old ways, so she just figured better safe, than sorry.

"He always makes comments about wanting grandchildren…" Rukia says, and Ichigo smiles.

"He may get his wish…" Ichigo says softly, knowing they haven't used any sort of protection.

She hasn't demanded he pull out either, and so he hasn't bothered to try.

"I suppose." Rukia says, as she pulls him in for a kiss.

_I don't want to tell him that I imagine our future with children all around us, just yet. I have to remember he's young…_

"Just so you know…you don't have to be afraid to tell me, if you get pregnant." Ichigo says, suddenly worried that she would fear something like that.

"I know. It's not that…" Rukia says, not wanting to admit that she'd like for them to be married before something like that could happen. She doesn't want to pressure him.

Suddenly Ichigo's hands are on her breasts, and Rukia sighs in delight.

"We should start the day the right way…" Ichigo says in a husky voice, before he leans over to kiss her throat.

Rukia's body responds to his tongue on her damned sensitive neck, and before she knows it, he has her shaking from using his fingers and mouth, to bring her to the point of madness. She reaches down to grab him, and he groans into her skin, before he leans over to tease her nipple.

"Ichigo!" Rukia gasps, as his tongue flicks across her hardened nipple quickly and erotically. Rukia starts to let out some whimpers and moans.

"I love it when you moan…" Ichigo whispers, as his eyes darken with passion.

"Make love to me, Ichigo." Rukia gasps out, as his finger teases her clit.

"I will…" Ichigo whispers, and he moves lower, to kiss her flat and sexy belly.

He moves down to her legs, and inner thighs, before he teases her clit with his tongue. Rukia's entire body jerks, the moment his tongue makes contact, and he can tell, that this affects her, as much as her tongue affects him.

He dives deeper into the honey pot, until her entire body is shivering and jerking with pleasure, and her breathing is hard and heavy. Rukia sits up, and Ichigo pulls his head out from between her legs, as she grabs him by his hair, towards her. She kisses him soundly, and then stares deep into his eyes.

"I'll make love to you, then." Rukia tells him in a whisper, and Ichigo's eyes widen as she stands up and motions for him to change his position.

Ichigo sits on the bed, and Rukia straddles him, while he looks at her with adoring, desire filled eyes.

Rukia begins to bounce on him, and he grabs a hold of her cute rear, to assist her in the bouncing, and before long, they're both letting out pleasured moans at the shared action.

Rukia arches her back, and allows Ichigo to do all of the work with his arms, bouncing her up and down off of him, as she orgasms.

The sight of her achieving an orgasm, brings about his own, and he draws her forward, to kiss her, as he explodes within her.

"Rukia…" Ichigo's voice is breathless and happy. Rukia smiles at him.

"That really is the _right way_ to start the day." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo leans forward to kiss her.

"I'm glad you think so." Ichigo says, and they stare into each other's eyes.

They're interrupted from their staring, when a loud and long knock sounds on the door.

"Who is it?!" Ichigo belts out, right in Rukia's ear. She glares at him, and jumps off of him, to throw on a dress from the closet. Ichigo grabs his sweatpants off the floor, to put them on, when he's answered.

"It's me! I need Rukia-chan!" Yuzu's voice sounds awfully frantic, and Ichigo wonders what in the hell has his docile sister, so upset.

"Wouldn't it be better, if I helped you?" Ichigo calls though the door, as he slides his pants up.

"Can I please come in?!" Yuzu begs, and Ichigo blushes.

_Does the room smell like sex, or is it my imagination?!_

"Sure!" Ichigo calls out nervously, and his sister enters the room.

Yuzu doesn't even notice their disheveled appearances, since she believes they just woke up and simply have bed hair. She also doesn't appear to notice the smell of sex that Ichigo was worried about.

"Rukia-chan…I need to talk to you!" Yuzu says, with big, round, tear filled eyes.

"Sure thing, Yuzu-chan." Rukia says, and then Yuzu steps forward to grab Rukia's hand and pull her out of the room.

"In private!" Yuzu clarifies, as she drags Rukia out of the room, with surprising strength.

Ichigo just gapes, as Rukia throws him an apologetic look over her shoulder, before disappearing out the doorway.

Ichigo knows he shouldn't be upset that his sister is relying on Rukia, but he feels a bit left out. He's her big brother, and she should come to him, rather than Rukia…shouldn't she?

"I wonder why she couldn't talk to me." Ichigo grumbles, before he sighs, and grabs a tee-shirt to put on.

Ichigo heads downstairs, and finds his father, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

"Good morning, Ichigo!" Isshin says, with a knowing wink.

Ichigo immediately blushes. His father certainly knows what was going on, a short while ago, in his room.

"Morning." Ichigo mutters, and Isshin raises an eyebrow.

"Shouldn't you be saying good morning, or better yet, excellent morning?!" Isshin inquires, causing Karin to throw them both glares. She knows exactly what her father means when he says that.

"Shut up…" Ichigo growls, though he cannot for the life of him, lose his blush.

Upstairs, Rukia and Yuzu are in the bathroom together, and Yuzu is tearfully explaining that she's gotten her first period. She doesn't have any feminine products, and she has a ton of questions.

"Do you…have any products I could use?" Yuzu asks pitifully, and Rukia smiles at her.

"Of course I do. Maybe I should keep them in here." Rukia says, eyeing the cupboard.

"I don't want everyone knowing…Karin hasn't gotten hers yet." Yuzu confides, and Rukia gives Yuzu a quick hug.

"I won't tell. My things are in Ichigo's room though. I'll try to sneak one out, just stay here." Rukia tells Yuzu, who nods gratefully at her honorary older sister.

"Thank you, Rukia-chan!" Yuzu says, with more tears in her eyes, and as Rukia leaves the bathroom, she finds herself wondering if she too, gets that emotional at that time of the month.

When Rukia finds Ichigo's room empty, she grabs several pads, to take back to Yuzu. This way, Yuzu won't have to come to Rukia again, when she needs to change it. Rukia knocks on the bathroom door, before opening it, and places the small stack of pads, into Yuzu's hands.

"Here you go! If you ever need a girl to talk to…" Rukia tells her, but Yuzu smiles through her tears.

"I'm glad I have you to talk to…I always used to think it would have been nice to have an older sister…and I think of you as my sister." Yuzu tells her, and Rukia feels touched.

"I think of you as a younger sister too." Rukia admits, as she opens the door, preparing to leave and give Yuzu a bit of privacy.

"Thanks again, Rukia-chan!" Yuzu says, and Rukia smiles before she walks out and closes the door behind her.

"Anytime, Yuzu-chan." Rukia says, and then she heads back to Ichigo's room.

She hopes Yuzu leaves the bathroom soon, because she always likes to bathe, after making love, since her body feels a bit sweaty.

Ichigo walks back into his room with a plate of food, and he looks surprised to see her, he expected her to be showering as was her habit after they made love.

"My father was being so annoying…I figured we should eat up here." Ichigo admits, with a pink face.

"I'm waiting for Yuzu to finish using the bathroom, and then I want to shower." Rukia says, even as she eyes the plate of food.

"Here, take a bite of this, first." Ichigo says, holding up a piece of bacon.

Rukia leans forward, and takes a bite, before her eyes widen in pleasure.

"Wow, that's good!" Rukia exclaims, and she leans forward to take another bite of the piece of bacon he's holding.

Ichigo never thought he could get excited, feeding his beautiful and petite girlfriend, but he quickly realizes that he wouldn't mind feeding her like this, everyday.

"You're too sexy for your own good." Ichigo mutters at her, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"I am?" Rukia says, surprised by that comment…it came out of nowhere!

"Yeah, now what did my sister want?" Ichigo asks her, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"I can't tell you. I promised." Rukia says, and Ichigo scowls.

"You're keeping secrets from me?" Ichigo asks, with a hurt look, and Rukia rolls her eyes.

"Your sister trusted me to keep her confidence…" Rukia tells him, but Ichigo looks so down, that Rukia rolls her eyes.

"I won't tell, that you told me." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia glares at him.

"Ichigo…all I'm going to say is that it's a feminine thing, and there's no reason for you to know the specifics!" Rukia tells him, and Ichigo's eyes widen at that.

"My twelve year old sister has a feminine thing?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia rolls her eyes.

"Don't worry about it, really." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo nods his head slowly, and thoughtfully.

"I'm glad they have you to talk to…about that kind of stuff." Ichigo finally responds, and Rukia smiles at him. His sweet nature, always makes her want to smile.

"I think of them like younger sisters…" Rukia admits, and Ichigo's eyes sparkle at that.

"My father has done a good job on making you feel like part of the family." Ichigo says observantly, and Rukia leans forward to kiss him.

"You've done a good job of that too. I always feel welcome here." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo smiles.

"What would you say…if I asked you to marry me?" Ichigo asks her softly, and Rukia's eyes bulge.

"I'd say yes." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo smiles widely at her.

"That's good…that's really good." Ichigo says, before he looks away.

Rukia's smile is radiant.

_It's nice to know he thinks about us getting married too!_


	59. As Requested: Only A Game 2

**A/N-I had more than one request, to continue- Only A Game, chapter 57, and so here it is! It's dedicated to the ones that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Only A Game 2_

Once in Ichigo's room, after their encounter in the bathroom, Rukia looks at him nervously. They're both still in their towels, and about to act on how much they both want one another.

_I hope he doesn't expect me to have all of the answers…I have no idea how we're supposed to start…_

"I want to hold you." Ichigo whispers to her, and Rukia blushes.

_She's made it so much easier for me…all I have to do, is show her, how much I care…_

"I want to hold you, too…Ichigo…" Rukia trails off, but then she looks directly at him. "Are you sure about this?" Rukia asks him, and Ichigo gives her a wide eyed stare.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life." Ichigo informs her, and Rukia is grinning before she can stop herself.

"I'm glad." Rukia says, staring up into his eyes.

Ichigo steps towards her, and grabs her up in his arms. Rukia quickly grabs him around the neck, and he walks her over to the bed, losing his towel in the process. He lays her down in his bed, and Rukia's face gets red, when she realizes he lost his towel. Ichigo smirks at her.

"Your turn." He tells her in a husky voice, and he opens her towel up, once again, exposing her beautiful, slim, and petite body.

As he looks at her, he realizes, he wants to learn all of the secrets of her body. He wants to know what places she likes to be touched, kissed, and licked.

_I want to know…all of Rukia._

Rukia is blushing fiercely, as his eyes travel up and down her body, and he's a bit unaware at how red her face is, since he's staring at everything else, at the moment.

With the air hitting her body, her nipples harden up, and Ichigo feels himself drawn to her breasts. They're not huge…but they have such a pleasing shape, and they're so perky, even as she lays down. Her nipples look like they're begging to be touched, and kissed.

"This is a bit embarrassing…" Rukia whispers to him, and he finally looks into her eyes, before shaking his head.

"I couldn't have imagined a more perfect body in my mind." Ichigo tells her earnestly, and Rukia's eyes widen at that comment.

She saw the way he was looking at her, and for her to do anything other than believe him, would be completely absurd.

_He actually wants me…he is turned on by my body! I'm so happy…_

"I like your body…I want to touch you." Rukia admits softly, and Ichigo shivers in reaction to her words.

"I want that too…and I want to touch you." Ichigo tells her, as he slowly climbs into the bed next to her.

Ichigo leans down to kiss her, and Rukia closes her eyes, and concentrates on it fully. His skin, is wondrously warm, from showering, and he smells like soap. She puts her hand, up to his cheek, and as she does, his tongue slips into her mouth.

Rukia is still spinning from the amazing sensations that his touching her brings about, and that's when he deepens the kiss, letting her know how much he yearns for this kind of physical contact with her.

_It's perfect…_

He doesn't pull away from kissing her, it seems he's as intoxicated by their kiss, as she is. Rukia keeps her eyes closed, concentrating on him, and she moves her hands through his hair, and then down his bare back.

Ichigo murmurs, as they kiss, and Rukia sighs into his mouth, as his tongue hits the roof of her mouth, tickling her in a pleasant way, unexpectedly. When she does that, Ichigo threads his fingers through her hair, intent on kissing her, and making her feel loved.

His heart is already pounding, but it manages to speed up a bit, as Rukia's hands slide to his lower back, and to his butt. She begins to squeeze his rump, and massage it, which is extremely exciting for Ichigo.

_Her hands are so soft…her body is so soft…her skin is so soft and smooth…I don't want this to ever end._

Ichigo finally pulls away from her mouth. She opens her eyes to meet his gaze, as she continues to rub, and squeeze his ass.

"I've never felt so good in my life." Rukia admits, with a blush, and Ichigo smiles, as he stares into her eyes.

"Me either…you're incredible, Rukia." Ichigo tells her, in a husky voice, and his eyes slide over the exposed skin of her side, and the curve of her own cute ass.

"I'm glad you've never felt this good before, either." Rukia whispers, and Ichigo leans down to kiss the side of her neck.

Rukia sucks in a quick breath at that, and she squeezes his rear with a bit more muscle, involuntarily in response to the tingling sensation he's sending down her entire body. She never imagined she could enjoy her neck being kissed this much.

He begins to use his tongue, more than his lips, and Rukia is breathing more heavily in reaction to that. His fingers begin to travel lightly down her arms, and over her hips, as he kisses her, and then he slowly brings them up, to massage her breasts, which in his eyes, are perfect.

Rukia's eyes widen…she's hardwired to deck anybody who makes a move to touch her breasts…it's instinctive. She nearly bashes him in the side of his head, before she stops herself. Luckily for her, he missed her near attack completely.

Within moments, she finds that she really likes the way he's touching her so gently, without making her feel like she's simply being groped. His caress makes her toes curl up, in wonder at the feelings…so intense.

His finger begins to slide over her nipple in a very intense way. The tingling sensation, only gets stronger, when he kisses down the top of her chest and then slips her nipple, along part of her right breast into his mouth. He's also moved down too far for her to still rub his ass, so her hands are caressing his back, and move up onto his hair, periodically.

Her breaths sound even more ragged, as he experiments with his tongue. He rubs it directly over her nipple, which she reacts positively to, by moaning softly. One hand is on her left breast, and the other is on her waist.

He stays right where he's at, and experiments other ways of pleasing her breasts with his mouth. He moves his hand down, and switches to her left, as he begins to trace the areola in a circular motion with a medium amount of pressure, and she groans at that. Her hands are all over his back…her motions are quick, and he can tell how much this excites her.

He begins to move his head lower, but suddenly Rukia is dragging him up by his ear.

"Why do you get to have all the fun? You stay still a minute." Rukia orders him, and Ichigo blushes.

It had been his plan, to completely assault her senses with pleasurable feelings, so that he can make love to her, but he should have known…

_She's Rukia, and she won't just let me make love to her…we'll be making love to each other._

Ichigo stays still, and Rukia begins to run her fingers down his chest. She wonders if his nipples are as sensitive as hers are. She runs a finger over one, and it hardens a bit, just like hers did. She looks at his face, but his eyes are closed, and he looks like he's trying not to smile.

Rukia decides to lean over, and nibble on his nipple, since she thought it was nice when he did that to her. Ever so lightly, she uses her teeth and tongue to tease his nipple. Ichigo's eyes open in surprise. He hadn't imagined he would react so strongly to what he thought was a pleasure for women.

But he is.

While Rukia had been able to fully enjoy what he had done to her breasts, it only makes Ichigo begin to hurt…he feels like she's trying to torture him or something. It feels so good it hurts…and he wants to make love to her more now, than he did before…and he had wanted to make love to her plenty, before.

"Rukia…" Ichigo groans, and he reaches out to massage her breasts again.

She nibbles on him in a way that makes him think he's going to throw her legs over her head, and drive himself into her in one powerful thrust.

"So you like that?" Rukia says, in an amused voice, and Ichigo gives her a look that surprises her…he looks like a cat about to pounce on a mouse.

"I wanted to do more before…" That's all Ichigo says, as he grabs her up and flips her to her back.

"What?" Rukia asks, but Ichigo doesn't give any indication that he's heard her…he's completely focused.

He's staring in between her legs, like he has a mission, and Rukia gasps as his hand is there so quickly, she never saw the movement of his arm. Ichigo's eyes are only half open…he's lost completely in his desire, and though he didn't think she could do anything more to turn him on, she's succeeded, by being completely wet and moist where it matters the most.

As he pushes his fingers into her most secret place, he realizes that she's been as turned on by what's already happened as much as he is. He had wanted to kiss her there, but the need to make love, completely overrides that thought.

_I promise Rukia…I'll do it next time…I can't wait anymore!_

Ichigo looks at Rukia who is blushing, with her eyes closed. He is way too caught up in his desire to be embarrassed at the moment, and with her eyes closed, it's easy to grab himself, and replace his fingers, with his pulsing rod, ready to penetrate her completely, prepared to strengthen the strong bond that they already share.

Ichigo is worried that it will hurt her, and he wants to do something to help, and he can only think of one thing.

"I'm going to love you forever." Ichigo says in a deep voice, as he stares at her face, causing Rukia's eyes snap open and stare at him directly in the eyes, as he gives a powerful thrust, and forces his way past her barrier in one smooth motion, all the way to the deepest part of her.

It hurt alright, but she can't even think about pain.

_Did he just say he'd love me forever!? Ichigo…_

Ichigo stays still…and wills himself not to completely embarrass himself, by coming on the first push…but he feels like he may not have any control over that matter.

"Ichigo…" Rukia's voice is ragged, and Ichigo can't tell if it's from pain or pleasure.

"I'm sorry if it hurt…" Ichigo mutters against her ear, and Rukia shakes her head.

"Don't worry about it…just give me a minute to adjust…" Rukia whispers back, and Ichigo is grateful for it, because he thinks he's going to be able to pull himself together, to last longer than three seconds.

Rukia takes a few deep breaths, and after about half a minute, she puts her hands in his hair.

"Rukia…" Ichigo mutters, wanting her to know he's never felt anything sweeter in his life, but his mind is too jumbled to make a proper sentence.

"I'm okay…" Rukia says, and Ichigo slowly draws back, and opens his eyes, to stare at her, and Rukia looks back, as she threads her arms around his neck.

Ichigo pushes himself back in, and realizes…no matter how slow or fast he goes, he won't be able to last as long as he'd like…so he decides to speed it up, to give her as much feeling as possible, before he's unable to hold back.

Rukia feels like it's all so intense…after all, she's pretty tender down there already, from his initial thrust, so when he reaches his climax rather quickly, she's rather relieved.

Ichigo pulls himself off of her, and empties himself like a shotgun onto her stomach. He shakes, and shivers for a moment, before he gives her a loving smile.

_I should make it up to her…_

Rukia can hardly believe it, when Ichigo scoots down, and begins to kiss her on her clit, and she thought his fingers felt intense…that was nothing like this.

Ichigo uses his tongue to rub her clit, and he doesn't stop until she finds her release.

Rukia's squealing and shrieking wakes a slumbering Kon from his deep sleep in the closet. As Ichigo is pulling the cover over the two of them, to hold her, Kon busts the door of the closet open and points at them.

"Hey! I'm trying to sleep here! Why do you always have to make a racket?" Kon asks, before he realizes Ichigo and Nee-san are in bed together, looking mighty suspicious. He doesn't see any clothes…just one towel. "What are you doing to Nee-san?" Kon asks angrily, and Ichigo gives Kon the look of death.

"Close the door and go back to sleep or I'll demolish your pill before morning." Ichigo says, and something about his tone, terrifies the hell out of Kon.

_My life might suck, but there are still opportunities for me to have fun! I can't die yet!_

Kon meekly slides the door shut, and lays down, blinking in fear.

Ichigo hugs Rukia and kisses her forehead.

They both close their eyes to fall asleep, with the covers hiding their naked state. Ichigo's thoughts are identical to Rukia's, as they fall off into dreamland.

_I'm glad everything happened the way it did…I love you._


	60. As Requested: Crossing The Line

**A/N-I had a request to do this…it's not an idea I would have ever thought up on my own, and it's dedicated to the person that requested it. Please enjoy!**

_Crossing The Line_

Rukia slips into Ichigo's room, in the middle of the night. He is such a deep sleeper, that she can slip in, and do what she wants, without him ever waking up.

She walks over to the bed, and hears him snoring softly, which makes her smile. Rukia carefully climbs into bed with him. She has no idea how she would explain her presence, if he woke up, but he hasn't woken up yet, and she's done this many times.

He looks so incapable of being dangerous, when she sees him like this. His face is so relaxed looking, and there's no sign of the scowl he typically wears during the day.

Rukia carefully runs her fingers through his hair, and smiles at how nice it feels to touch him like this. She knows that if he were awake, he'd probably be asking her what in the hell she's doing.

He shifts a bit, and Rukia's hand stills as he does. He throws one arm around her legs, and presses his face into her side.

Rukia's eyes widen. This has never happened in the past. He's usually very still, doesn't move a whole lot, and certainly doesn't grab her or try to cuddle with her. Rukia can feel her heart pounding so hard and fast.

_What in the hell would I say, if he woke up right now?_

Of course she always knew there was a chance, she'd be caught in the act, but she'd grown confident after getting away with it so many times.

Rukia waits until she's sure he's soundly back asleep, before she slides her arm around him, to gently massage his back. She can't help it, when she sits in his room with him, as he sleeps, she feels incredibly happy.

_Maybe I should leave…before I end up getting caught._

Rukia tries to gently remove Ichigo's arm from her person, but he tightens his hold, and refuses to let her go, which makes Rukia begin to panic.

_Shit! If I try anymore…he could wake up!_

Rukia cannot calm down. Her back is rigid, and her heart rate won't slow. He's rubbing his face, gently against her side, and he begins to squeeze her leg. Rukia can only gape at him, as he touches her in his sleep.

_Why is he doing this to me?! Why?!_

Rukia stares at Ichigo with confusion.

_What in the hell am I supposed to do?_

Rukia squeezes her eyes shut tight, and she tries to take deep relaxing breaths.

_I have to try to get out of here!_

"Rukia…" Ichigo's voice sounds unlike it normally does.

Rukia stares down at him in utter shock as he sighs and yanks her down into the bed with him, so that he can cuddle with her properly. Now she's encased in his arms, and she feels like her insides are about to snap from the tension.

_How am I supposed to get away from him, without waking him up?!_

Then he begins to rub his groin into hers, and he pushes her face a bit harder into his chest.

Rukia can't help, but to melt completely, when he does that. She no longer worries about trying to get away. Instead, she fully enjoys being surrounded in his strong arms, pressed against his muscular chest, and pushing against her body as though he just can't get close enough.

"I love and hate this dream at the same time." Ichigo mutters at her, before he places a sound kiss on the top of her head.

Rukia blinks a few times.

_Is he dreaming about me? Or is he awake right now?!_

She can't tell. Normally he sleeps like a rock, and has never attempted anything like this before, and she's come in her more times than she can keep track of.

Somehow though, Rukia never imagined that if he did wake up to find her in his bed, that he would react with no shock at all. The part that worried her was whether or not he would be mad at her, or just embarrassed.

If he is awake, she wants him to know that she likes being in his arms, so she slowly slides her arm back around him, and turns her face so that her cheek is resting fully on his chest. His hold tightens after she does that, and he throws his leg over hers, trapping her even further.

Rukia can't help it, the warm and beautiful feeling of holding him makes her so happy to be where she's at, even if he's sleeping now, and gets mad at her later. She closes his eyes, and his hand drifts down to her rear end. Rukia's eyes pop open the instant his hand goes there, and she begins to feel…restless.

She slowly grows bold, and she turns her face, to kiss the center of his chest. She slides her hand down his back, squeezes his ass, and then brings her hand around the front, and feels with her hand, what was pushing against her. She has to scoot back the tiniest bit to accomplish this feat, but she manages it, and her hand slides over the front of his pants.

Ichigo's eyes pop open suddenly, and he completely freezes for a second, as he takes in the entire situation.

It's the middle of the night. He's not alone in his bed, Rukia is with him, and she's rubbing his wood, over his pants.

_Why is Rukia in my bed? Why am I holding her so close in my arms, and why in the hell is she touching me there!? Did I bring her here, in my sleep? Rukia wouldn't come in and do all of this on her own…at least I don't think she would! What in the fuck is happening?_

Rukia senses him tense up, completely, and she stills in his arms, and bites her lip in nervousness. His reiatsu is beginning to fluctuate, in reaction to his shock at waking up the way he did, and she knows he's woken up.

Ichigo doesn't know what to do. He doesn't want to say the wrong thing, and he doesn't know the right action to take. He doesn't want to ask how they ended up like this, in each other's arms.

"Are you awake?" Ichigo asks softly, and Rukia feels her face heat up.

"Yeah." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo lifts his leg off of her, and lets her out of his arms. He stands up, and scratches his head.

"I'll be right back." Ichigo says, and he hurries out of his room, to go into the bathroom to think a minute.

_Why do I have to be thinking this hard, the moment I wake up?_

Rukia sits up in Ichigo's bed, completely mortified. She should run back to Karin and Yuzu's room, and avoid him completely, but she knows that won't solve anything. Plus he's not above coming in and dragging her out to force an explanation out of her.

_I only feel guilty because I was wrong, and I liked it._

In the bathroom, Ichigo clutches his head.

_Rukia was awake, and she was touching me, on her own._

Ichigo looks at himself in the mirror, and heads back to his room purposefully.

Rukia feels her heart practically stop, when Ichigo steps back into the room, and looks at her. He doesn't look angry though, so she takes that as an extremely good sign. Him being angry would definitely be the worst, and hardest to handle.

"Rukia…I don't know why you were in my bed or how you got there, and if I did anything to hurt you, I'm really sorry…" Ichigo says, and Rukia wants to speak, but he starts back up again before she can get her nerve. "…I don't want you to leave or anything. I haven't ever woken up that nicely in my life." Ichigo admits, as he has several flashbacks of how his father has woken him up in the past.

"You didn't do anything that requires you to apologize." Rukia tells him, feeling horribly guilty.

_I was the one who was in the wrong! Why does he have to be so damned sweet?!_

Ichigo is instantly relieved to hear Rukia's words. He had a dark vision of his inner hollow taking over in his sleep, and dragging Rukia into his bed by force.

"Rukia." Ichigo says, and he walks over to the bed.

Rukia looks up at him, and he can see the guilt written all over her face. He leans down to kiss her, and then he blushes.

"Damn it Ichigo!" Rukia growls, and a tear falls down her cheek.

"I'm the luckiest guy in the world, to wake up holding you in my arms. I have always…" Ichigo leans down and kisses her again. This time she responds to his intimate kiss.

Neither one speaks, as Ichigo sits down on his bed, and pulls her into his arms. Neither says anything, and yet they both think the same exact thing.

_It's always been my dream to be allowed to hold you. I love you so much!_


	61. As Requested: Feminine Issues 4

**A/N-I had a request to continue the Feminine Issues series, which are chapters 36, 45, and 58. It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Feminine Issues 4_

Rukia is relieved when her period comes. She wouldn't be angry if Ichigo already managed to get her pregnant, but she is glad they managed to slide their way around it this time.

"Maybe I should think about a method of birth control…" Rukia mutters, even as she shakes her head.

_I don't mind the risk. I would be happy even if I hadn't gotten my period._

Rukia walks into Ichigo's bedroom, and he looks up at her.

"What's wrong, Rukia?" Ichigo asks, as he gives her his full attention.

"I got my period." Rukia mutters, and Ichigo looks at her, carefully.

"It doesn't seem as bad as last time." Ichigo says, and Rukia smiles.

"Thank goodness for that. I only have the really bad ones, about twice a year. The rest just suck because it's a miserable pain, having to deal with having a period." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo bites his lip.

"Are you against being intimate?" Ichigo asks her, and Rukia blushes.

"It would probably be too messy." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo grins at her.

"So you wouldn't mind a romp in the shower?" He asks, and Rukia blushes again.

"I wouldn't so long as we were alone in the house." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo gives her a devilish smile.

"I'm glad I won't be cut off." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia crosses her arms.

"Your family is here." Rukia points out, and Ichigo winks at her.

"I'll find a way to get rid of them." Ichigo says confidently, and Rukia gives him a dubious look.

"You let me know when you accomplish that feat," Rukia says. She crawls into his bed, and puts her arm around him, to take a nap.

Ichigo begins to rub her back, and let her rest. She may not be in pain, but she's obviously a bit drained, so he wants her to be comfortable.

Rukia falls asleep fast, with him rubbing her back like that. Once she's asleep, Ichigo slips out of the bed, yanks some bribe money out of his dresser, and goes to locate Yuzu.

Karin is out playing soccer, and his father is doing paperwork in the clinic. Yuzu is vacuuming her bedroom, and she shuts off the vacuum cleaner, when Ichigo walks in.

"Yuzu, I'll give you this…to do me a favor." Ichigo says, flashing the bribe money at her.

Yuzu's eyes widen, since she's been wanting to buy a new dress, and if she adds what her brother has in his hands, she won't have to wait another whole week to buy one.

"What's the favor?" Yuzu asks, and Ichigo winks at her, he can tell she wants the bribe.

"Tell Dad that you don't want to cook tonight, and that you'd like for him to take us all out. When I'm asked to go, I'm going to say no, but please bring me and Rukia back some take out. She's just started her feminine issues, and isn't feeling well. I just want to take care of her for awhile." Ichigo says, and Yuzu's eyes widen in sympathy.

Yuzu thinks about how Rukia had been so helpful, when her first period had come, and she's more than glad to help her brother and Rukia out.

"Is it as bad as last time?" Yuzu asks with concern, and Ichigo shakes his head no.

"No, thank goodness it's not as bad as that, but she's still feeling kind of crappy." Ichigo says, and Yuzu nods as she holds out her hand.

"I'm going to go ask him now. Pay up." Yuzu says, eyeballing what she needs to get her new dress.

"Half now, and half if you succeed. The moment the three of you are out of the house, I'll put the other half under your pillow." Ichigo tells her, and Yuzu nods her agreement.

Ichigo crosses his arms and smiles as Yuzu runs out of the room.

"And Rukia thought I couldn't do it." Ichigo says softly, but smugly.

_Later…_

"Okay…how did you get your family out of the house?" Rukia asks him suspiciously, as he leads her to the bathroom. He had waited to make sure they didn't come back in, because they forgot something.

Ichigo winks at her, and then leans over to kiss her.

"It's a secret." Ichigo says, and Rukia stares at him, with a raised eyebrow.

She really hadn't expected that he could actually get his family out of the house, and now she's totally nervous.

"Ichigo…will you let me get into the shower for a couple of minutes, and then join me?" Rukia asks him nervously, and Ichigo nods his head.

He figures she wants to do something embarrassing having to do with her feminine issues, that she doesn't want him to see, and he wants to respect her privacy, and not tick her off so that she changes her mind after he actually got his family out of the house. He keeps his bargain with Yuzu and places the other half of the bribe, under her pillow.

Rukia hurries to prepare herself so that Ichigo sees as little blood as possible. She knows he's seen a lot of blood in his life, but still, when you're being intimate…that's not really the time or place for it. Plus, she's still pretty new to the whole intimacy thing. She absolutely loves it, but she's so nervous…just like she was the first time.

Ichigo opens the door after a few minutes.

"Is it okay?" Ichigo calls out.

"Yeah." Rukia's voice sounds hoarse to her own ears.

"Do you need another minute?" Ichigo asks, worried he popped in, too soon.

"No…it's okay." Rukia tells him in a stronger voice, and Ichigo has his clothes off in under ten seconds…well he already had his zipper undone, and his shirt off in the hall, so he only had minimal clothing to remove, once inside the bathroom.

Rukia blushes as Ichigo enters the shower and lets out an appreciative murmur as he sees the water trickling down her body.

"You're hot." Ichigo whispers, and Rukia smiles. Then she looks him up and down.

"You too." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo smirks.

"So sexy." Ichigo breathes.

He steps closer so that their toes are nearly touching, and he leans down to kiss her. Rukia reaches up to hold on, as he kisses her passionately. Within moments, she's forgotten all of her nervousness. His hands start to move over her body and her whole body shivers.

_Is my body even more sensitive right now?_

Rukia soon is swept up in the romance of sneaking in a love session, while the rest of his family is out to dinner. All it takes is his deep emotion filled kisses, along with his hands sliding down her wet body, to change her feelings from apprehension to complete excitement.

Rukia reaches out and begins to touch him in the same way. Then she begins to slowly massage his legs, and she purposely lets her hand brush a bit against his swollen up sex.

Ichigo reaches down in between her legs, and begins to gently rub her clit, and Rukia nearly falls over in the tub. She ends up latching onto Ichigo's shoulders to hold herself up, since her mind is swirling with so many thoughts, yet she can't even grasp any of them fully.

Ichigo stops kissing Rukia to look at her, and her eyes are only half open, while rolling back into her head a little bit from the pleasure, even as she digs her fingernails into his shoulders, clutching him for dear life. He pulls her hands off of him, and he turns her around. He leans down to kiss her ear, and then uses his body to push at her back until he's got her half bent over, and holding the wall of tile for support.

He slips inside of her, and they moan at the same time, at the feeling of him first entering her. Ichigo holds her upper thighs firmly, and he quickly gets down to business. He can already feel the water beginning to lose its heat, and he doesn't want to finish up in icy water, so he really lets loose, giving it to her with all he's got.

Rukia's moans are letting him know that she's enjoying it as much as him, and he challenges himself to make it more intense with each push. He puts all of his muscle into it, and he feels his body begin to respond, like he's about to erupt.

"I'm going to come…" Ichigo warns her, against her ear, before he gives her the finale.

Rukia nods her head and closes her eyes to enjoy what's left of their love making session. Ichigo reaches around with one of his hands to play with her clit again, and her body clenches in reaction to that, causing him to completely lose control, and he shoots up into her with a long, loud, and satisfied groan.

After a moment, he pulls out of her, and they spend another minute washing and rinsing as quickly as they can, before the water has no warmth left in it at all.

Rukia is still breathing hard, as Ichigo quickly reaches around her, and shuts off the water. Their bodies touch in that instant, and Rukia shivers.

"Wow…" Rukia mutters, since her head is still spinning from that hot tub action.

Ichigo smiles and reaches out for a towel. He tosses it onto Rukia's head, and grabs a second one for himself. They hurry out of the tub, and Rukia blushes.

"We can go back to my room." Ichigo says, and Rukia shakes her head.

"I'll be in there in a minute…I have to do something first." Rukia says, and Ichigo nods.

He doesn't have to ask, he already knows it's a girl thing, so he leaves the bathroom without her.

It ends up being the thing that saves them, because as he gets into his room, he hears the front door open. He also hears the thundering up the stairs, and he moves at top speed.

As Ichigo gets his pants on, his father busts into his bedroom, as though he's expecting to catch Rukia and Ichigo in the act…

"Ichigo!" Isshin says, and he's holding two takeout containers in his hand. Rukia peeks out into the hallway and rushes into Karin and Yuzu's room to get dressed.

"Thanks, I'm hungry." Ichigo says, as he takes the food from his father. Isshin is looking around, obviously for Rukia.

"Where's Rukia-chan?" Isshin asks, and Ichigo shrugs as he sets the containers on his desk.

"I'm sure she'll be in here in a minute, to eat with me." Ichigo says, and Isshin just looks confused.

"I thought for sure the two of you would try to take advantage of being in the house alone." Isshin says, and Ichigo turns bright red.

"Then you should have knocked before barging in!" Ichigo yells as he lands a right hook to his father's cheek.

"Touché." Isshin groans, as he crawls out of Ichigo's bedroom, and down the stairs..

Rukia appears in his room fully dressed, a minute later, and Ichigo stares at her.

"Are you wearing one of my sister's dresses?" Ichigo asks suspiciously, and Rukia smiles.

"Maybe." She says, as she walks over to collect her food.

"I want to do that with you again." Ichigo says, and Rukia blushes, but she nods her head.

"Me too." Rukia says, and she catches his eyes, and a knowing look passes between them.

_I want to experience everything with you._


	62. As Requested: Awkward Moment

**A/N-I had a request to do this one, and it's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Awkward Moment_

"Oi, Rukia, are you okay?" Ichigo asks, feeling horribly guilty.

"Don't worry about it idiot, I'm fine. It wasn't like you did it on purpose." Rukia says, even though her leg is sore like a bitch.

"Still." Ichigo says, as he frowns. He is always so aware of Rukia's presence, but the hollow he was fighting wasn't a typically ordinary weak one, it was one of great insight and intelligence.

The hollow understood that Rukia was one thing that Ichigo would protect, even at the cost of his life. The hollow also understood that Ichigo's feelings were those of a man who is deeply in love with the woman he's fighting alongside.

The hollow informed Ichigo that he would pierce Rukia's hidden entrance with his long tentacle, and rip out all of her insides, so that she can never reproduce.

That had been enough for Ichigo's focus to leave Rukia completely. It also brought out a fury in Ichigo, that Rukia had never personally witnessed before. Instead of a blue sky around them, all Rukia could see was red. His reiatsu forced her to her knees, it was so great in magnitude.

His slash attack was reminiscent of the one he let out in Soul Society when he freed her from the Soukyoku. He not only killed the hollow, he nailed the earth. Since he was up in the air, huge rocks, and pieces of earth went flying everywhere, and a rock hit Rukia's leg so hard, everything turned white for an instant. The pain was much more than she would ever dare to admit to him, though.

"Don't stress about it or I'll clobber you." Rukia threatens, and Ichigo sighs.

"I know you're in pain, even if you are too stubborn to show it." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia glares at him.

Ichigo reaches over and snatches her up in his arms.

"Ichigo! What in the hell are you doing?!" Rukia asks in a loud voice, and Ichigo scowls.

"If you really don't want to punish me for fucking up, then don't force me to watch you walk…I can tell it hurts just by looking at you, even if your face doesn't show it one bit." Ichigo snaps at her, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"What an incredibly kind offer!" Rukia says, smiling at him, and using her fake schoolgirl voice. Ichigo rolls his eyes.

_Meanwhile…_

The moment Ichigo and Rukia had left to go to slay hollows, Chappy had pounced on Kon.

"Finally, pyon!" She had squealed, and Kon had smiled like he was being allowed into the gates of heaven.

They spent ten minutes giving each other sloppy kisses, before Kon finally speaks.

"Nee-san!" Kon says with a sigh, and Chappy grins.

"Idiot, I'm not nee-san." Chappy tells him, and Kon gives her a pleading look.

"Come on, please? Let me call you nee-san this time. Be adventurous with me!" Kon pleads, and Chappy's face scrunches up as she ponders his request.

"You can call me nee-san…but that means you have to do everything else, my way." Chappy tells him, and Kon looks love struck.

"That's my nee-san!" Kon says, as happy as he could possibly be, unless of course he was _really_ with nee-san.

Kon immediately buries his head in her chest and rubs his cheeks against her breasts. Chappy smirks as she grabs him by his hair and pushes him down to his knees.

"Lick me." Chappy orders him, and she waits.

Kon dives in.

Outside of the Kurosaki home, Ichigo flashes to a stop with Rukia in his arms. He takes a giant leap up, and into the windowsill, and he lands on the floor of his bedroom. He nearly drops Rukia completely, but she's holding onto his neck so tight, she drops to her feet rather than her head.

Kon is naked on his knees, eating Chappy out, and everything is visible for Ichigo to see, since Chappy has one leg resting on Kon's shoulder, and she's standing with her other leg. Kon's holding onto her waist to keep her from losing her balance, and he doesn't even notice the return of Rukia and Ichigo since he's so involved in Chappy.

Chappy too, has her head back and her eyes closed. She is so oblivious to the return of the masters, that Ichigo and Rukia spend a long couple of moments gawking in complete shock before Ichigo can finally work his vocal chords.

"What in the hell are you two doing?!" Ichigo's voice is loud, and quite tense since he's seeing exactly what Rukia's body looks like naked, and it's a damned nice view.

Kon jerks his head away, and Chappy's eyes widen in horror.

"We're caught, pyon!" Chappy says nervously as she looks at Rukia.

"Cover yourself!" Rukia orders, with her face bright red, and Kon quickly jumps in front of Chappy, which only makes Ichigo turn red.

Now that she can no longer see her own body naked, she's got a clear view of his body…and she's looking. Ichigo grabs the blanket and throws it at Kon. Kon catches it, and scratches his head nervously as he tries to come up with some sort of explanation, but Ichigo smacks him out of his body, immediately causing Chappy to be exposed to his view again, as he enters his body and clutches the blanket around himself. He's hard.

Rukia quickly steps in front of Chappy, and she looks at Ichigo, feeling nervous to enter her body. To think that lips have touched that body there…Ichigo's lips, but Kon's soul, makes her not want to enter it at the moment.

_I don't believe it! Didn't Chappy hate Kon? How on earth could they have been doing that in our absence? What does Ichigo think about this?_

"Um…" Ichigo mutters, and he looks down. Rukia pushes Chappy into the closet, and she shuts the door to look at him.

"What are you going to do with the pill?" Rukia asks, pointing at Kon's pill on the floor.

"I don't know." Ichigo says quietly.

_We…they…looked good together._

"I hope you're not too upset…" Rukia mutters, and Ichigo's eyes jerk towards hers.

"Aren't you?" Ichigo asks in a high pitched voice.

"I'm embarrassed, not upset." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo cannot hide his surprise.

"I just never thought I'd see that…" Ichigo says, not adding that he's only imagined her and him together, not Kon in his body, with her gigai.

"Well-" Rukia starts to say, but Ichigo leaps to his feet with the blanket still on.

"I have to brush my teeth right now." Ichigo says quickly in a hoarse voice, since he's sure that the taste in his mouth is identical to the taste of Rukia, and it's making him want to do things with her that she probably wouldn't allow.

Rukia blushes when he says that, and she opens the closet door to glare at Chappy as he leaves the room.

"How far have you two gone?" Rukia demands, and Chappy shakes.

"We've been seeing each other for a long time. I've lost count of how many times we've gotten it on." Chappy says, and Rukia's mouth opens, then closes…then opens again.

"Seriously?" Rukia breathes after a few moments.

"He's so dirty." Chappy says, and Rukia quickly grabs a dress.

"You need a shower. You can't go to the bathroom naked." Rukia orders her, and Chappy winks at her.

"You never felt the sweat on your body when you returned?" She asks Rukia, and she gets an angry glare. Chappy hurries to put on the dress.

"I honestly thought you two fought like cats and dogs when we were away." Rukia says, and Chappy's eyes sparkle as she smoothes out the dress.

"That's what we wanted you to think." Chappy says, and Rukia clutches her head.

Ichigo walks back into his room a minute later, and Rukia shoves Chappy out the door. Ichigo turns bright red the moment his eyes land on Rukia, and he hurries to the bed with the blanket still wrapped around him.

"Ichigo…this is pretty serious. Kon has been having sex with my gigai, while in your body." Rukia informs him, and Ichigo's shock is not surprising to her.

"What?!" Ichigo squeaks, and he just blushes some more as he imagines it…it's so similar to the thoughts he has secretly, except it's ruined, because it's Kon with Chappy, and not Rukia with him.

"I had no idea…" Rukia mutters, and Ichigo doesn't say much, he just looks at her, since she's crossing her arms, and looking away.

"I am ready to destroy him for stealing that from me." Ichigo grumbles, and Rukia's eyes snap towards his.

His reaction is nothing like what she anticipated, except for him being shocked at first. Now he's acting almost…jealous…of _Kon_!

"They didn't steal anything, really. Our bodies, and our reproductive parts were with us. It's just that they're identical to us, and we have to return to those bodies afterwards…" Rukia mutters, feeling a bit ill.

"He took my dream…and made it so that I could actually see how good we could be together. It shouldn't have been them." Ichigo's voice is grouchy, but his words hit her like a rock.

_He feels the same way? This is the moment I can't let slip past me. If I let this moment pass, and do nothing…it's like I'm rejecting him._

"We weren't able to feel any of the things that they felt or did, and besides…it was always my dream, too." Rukia admits, and Ichigo is so happy to hear her say that.

He's so happy that he drops the blanket and jumps up to hug her.

"I'm not going to destroy the pill, but I'm putting him away until I'm no longer pissed off." Ichigo mutters against her ear, and Rukia smiles.

"You're naked." Rukia reminds him, and Ichigo doesn't let her go.

"Just let me hold you, Rukia. Just because Kon can't control himself doesn't mean I can't. We'll take it slow." Ichigo says, and Rukia smiles as she closes her eyes.

He might claim to take things slow, but he's the kind of person who tends to progress fast. She's happy to be in his arms, and excited to see how crazy a relationship with him can actually be.

"The fact that you realize it, for tonight, is enough." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo holds her tighter.

"Idiot. I've always realized it, deep down. Does your leg still hurt?" He asks, and Rukia laughs.

"The pain was forgotten when we entered the bedroom. That was one hell of a distraction." Rukia admits, and Ichigo kisses the side of her head.

"I can massage it for you." Ichigo says, and Rukia blushes.

"That's okay, really. I really think we've had enough excitement for one night." Rukia says, but she's suddenly tossed into the bed.

"That was nothing. Let me show you some real excitement." Ichigo says, wanting to feel more of her.

Ichigo climbs on her with his naked body, and he kisses her passionately. Rukia's head spins from the amazement of it, and she quickly forgets her objections. When he pulls away and pins her with a smoking hot stare, she takes a deep breath.

"Maybe we haven't had enough excitement tonight." Rukia concedes, and Ichigo leans in to kiss her again.

Chappy walks into the room with her towel and begins to giggle at the pair embracing tightly and kissing.

Rukia and Ichigo pull apart, and Chappy smiles mischievously before she drops the towel and flies into the bed with them.

"Threesome!" Chappy squeals, and Ichigo's mouth pops open as Rukia's naked gigai is flying at the bed. He wonders if he's caught in some sort of erotic dream, but Rukia grabs up Chappy and merges with her.

Now Rukia is naked in the bed with him, and he can hardly think straight. Rukia squawks as he's visibly very affected by this development. Within moments, the very innocent Ichigo is somehow managing to seduce her with his enthusiasm and apparent appreciation for her body.

_Later…_

As Rukia tries to fall asleep with Ichigo tightly hugging her, so she can't escape, she sighs. Her last true thought before she falls asleep is a simple acknowledgement.

_I knew he couldn't take things slow…_


	63. As Requested: Only A Game 3

**A/N-I had a request to continue the Only A Game series, and this is it. It's dedicated to the one that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Only A Game 3_

Rukia remembers Isshin's words, from the night before. He was leaving in the middle of the night, and so he wouldn't be able to wake up Ichigo when the morning came. He's asked her to do it, and Rukia had happily agreed.

When Isshin had left, Rukia had climbed naked into Ichigo's bed with him, and managed not to wake him up, as she fell asleep in his arms. Now it's early morning though, and it's time for him to wake up. She reaches down his pants and begins to tickle his balls.

"Wake up, Ichigo!" Rukia says in her fake schoolgirl voice.

That does it. Ichigo sits straight up, turns bright red, and then looks at her like she's nuts.

"Rukia! What if my family catches you in here? What if-" Ichigo loses all train of thought as Rukia pulls the blanket off of her body, revealing her completely nude state, which he'd somehow managed miss since he woke up being tickled with that annoying fake voice of hers.

"What if?" Rukia asks innocently, and Ichigo just stares at her a moment.

"You're naked." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia holds back a laugh.

"You're observant." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo blushes a bit.

"Now I want you…" Ichigo says in a choked voice, and Rukia smiles at him.

"Your father isn't home." Rukia informs him, and Ichigo's eyes widen happily.

"Oh really?" Ichigo asks her in a sexy voice, and it's even hotter because he just woke up, so his voice is deeper than usual.

"I wouldn't lie about that." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo yanks his pants down.

"Prepare yourself, woman." Ichigo says, before he tackles her in his own bed.

_Meanwhile…_

Outside of Ichigo's room, Yuzu looks at his door in confusion.

"Did I just hear something?" Yuzu asks, and Karin appears to grab her arm.

"Nope. You didn't hear anything at all. We should go to the kitchen. I'll even help you prepare breakfast." Karin says, as she drags her sister down the stairs, and gives a quick backwards glare towards her brother's room.

"But I thought I heard-" Yuzu begins to protest but Karin yells over her voice and stops her from continuing.

"You didn't hear anything, come on!" Karin yells, as she drags her sister the rest of the way down the stairs.

_Back In Ichigo's Room…_

"That feels so good, Ichigo…don't stop…keep going…" Rukia says, as he slurps and sucks hard on her nipple.

"Mmmm…" Ichigo mumbles as he keeps on pleasing her, and Rukia's gasping begins to get more pronounced, when he slides his finger to rub her sensitive clit.

"You're moving down the field too quickly…" Rukia mutters, and Ichigo stops sucking on her long enough to respond.

"You can't get a penalty for that…besides, you woke me up being all gorgeous and naked…I can hardly control myself…" Ichigo tells her, and Rukia moans loudly as he uses his finger in an incredibly fast motion to keep playing with her.

"That feels too good!" Rukia moans as she lifts her hips, and squirms under his touch.

"Too good? I haven't even gotten started." Ichigo tells her in a low voice, and Rukia is sure that she's being forced into an alternate dimension as he replaces his finger with his tongue.

Something weird…happens. Ichigo's tongue…takes on his hollow's tongue, and grows longer. Ichigo can hear it in his head…

_Let me taste her…let me get a good taste…_

Ichigo can not pull his head up…cannot risk her realizing exactly what's happening to him…his hollow is demanding a taste of Rukia, and Ichigo's tongue slides up inside of Rukia…deep.

Rukia lets out a very loud moan. Hollow Ichigo is laughing in Ichigo's head as his tongue goes all crazy inside of Rukia, moving in a fast circular motion along the walls of her warm and beautiful love tunnel.

_Magnificent…she really is. More…_

For Ichigo it's terrifying…for Rukia, who is unaware that Ichigo's hollow has also decided to participate in pleasing her, it's absolutely glorious. She grabs the pillow out from under her head and holds it over her own face, because she knows she can't keep holding back her screams.

Ichigo's eyes are brown, with a small ring of yellow, around his pupils…and Ichigo cannot push his hollow aside, nor can his hollow completely push him aside.

_We both want the same thing…we don't have to tell her…I let you go the first time, with no interference…not this time. It's torture being locked inside, knowing I can actually feel something…feel her._

Ichigo is torn…and he fights for more control, but his hollow remains firm. He's going to get a taste of it, no matter how much Ichigo wishes for it not to be.

She's enjoying it…Ichigo knows she is, because the warm rush of her release, is sliding down his tongue.

_She tastes like her reiatsu…_

_Yes, it's the taste of snow…against my lips…in me_.

He doesn't even know if it's him having these thoughts or his hollow, because the intense feelings that come as a result of being so close to Rukia all naked, along with his struggle to take control, have him all mixed up. She's shaking wildly under him, and he hadn't even been focused on that…

"Stop torturing me, Ichigo!" Rukia says, and Ichigo begins to wonder how long he's been camped between her legs, having this crazy ass struggle with his hollow. Her toes are curled and her breathing is as though she's just fought a hard battle.

_Make love to her…show me why having a human heart is so fucking great._

Ichigo doesn't have to wonder who thought that up in his head, only his hollow would say something as ignorant as that.

Ichigo moves upwards, but he closes his eyes, and keeps his hand lightly on the pillow…he doesn't want her to see that he's sharing her…

That thought makes him so angry, he suddenly shoves Hollow Ichigo out of control completely…and he's free to make love to Rukia, with it being one hundred percent himself.

_King…to me it was only a game…but it's everything to you, isn't it?_

Ichigo decides to answer his hollow out loud.

"Rukia…you're everything to me." Ichigo tells her, as he pulls the pillow off of her face, and places his airplane at the start of her runway.

"No…you're everything to me." Rukia argues, and he leaves for takeoff at that comment.

Rukia moans passionately as Ichigo gets better leverage, and begins to pound away. If he can't win with words, he'll win with actions. He pulls out of her, and leans back down to suck on her swollen up clit, and Rukia's eyes pop open wide at that. He quickly moves back up and resumes making love to her.

"What will it take to convince you…" Ichigo groans, as his body begins to lose the battle of control after a couple of minutes of intending to drive her wild.

His own plan is working against him. Being inside of her is the greatest feeling he's ever experienced…and he doesn't want it to end so soon. She looks so beautiful, with her face showing she's feeling pleasure. Her half closed eyes, and half open mouthed expression only adds to her sex appeal.

"Ichigo, you're going to break the bed!" Rukia gasps out, and Ichigo groans. He claps a hand over her mouth. Her voice just makes him more wild.

"Shhhh…let me try to last longer than five minutes…" Ichigo groans to her, and Rukia just keeps on moaning through his hand. She's breathing so hard.

Her breasts are rising and falling, and her nipples are hard nubs. Her back arches up, and he leans down to suck on her ear as he thrusts in and out of her.

She's squirming underneath him, and he knows she's feeling the same lightheaded wonderful feelings that he's feeling. They're sharing them.

Then he realizes he's going to come, and so he pulls back and once again, fires his load onto her stomach. Rukia's muscles flex, as she feels his liquid hit against her skin. She opens her eyes, and he reaches back down with his finger to play with her clit.

"If you didn't get enough, I'll keep going." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia shakes her head.

"No, no…I'm fully satisfied." Rukia assures him, with wide eyes.

Ichigo nods his head, and leans back over to kiss her. His serious brown eyes, meet her amazed blue ones. She can tell, he's thinking something really important, even if he isn't telling her what it is, and she knows…she's in way too deep to ever let go of this amazing love she's found with Ichigo.

Ichigo wants his hollow to know one thing, as he stares into Rukia's eyes.

_I'm completely serious about Rukia, and if it's only a game to you, then you can never ever have her._


	64. Rukia's Egg

_**A/N-When I had this idea, I just started to laugh, and I simply had to write it out for you all! Please imagine that normal women in Soul Society give birth, but in rare instances, have laid eggs. Rukia is one such case, please put your funny goggles on!**_

_Rukia's Egg_

For two months, Ichigo has dreamed of making love to Rukia. Ever since he got to experience making love to her, he's completely addicted to it. The passionate woman that she becomes, when she's in his arms, makes him happy beyond measure.

When he woke up this morning, Rukia was nowhere to be found, however…there was something very strange in his room, cradled in several sheets, along with a note.

_Break this egg and I will kill you. I will __**seriously kill **__you._

Ichigo has been completely fascinated by this egg…and the fact that breaking it would ensure the end of his life. He quickly discovered that he didn't want this egg to leave his sight, since it being broken would surely mean his death. He doesn't exactly know how he knows, but he knows that this egg is hers. What he doesn't know, is whether or not some life form is already inside of it, or if it's a dud.

_I can't imagine Rukia laying an egg._

Ichigo can't help it, but the corners of his mouth pop up, when he imagines her squatting, and laying the egg. It's such a funny picture, he's quite amused.

Ichigo begins to imagine all of the ways that the egg could possibly be accidentally broken, and he starts to worry about whether or not the egg is in a safe place.

_What if my crazy father dives at me and lands on it?_

Ichigo quickly decides that the egg is currently unsafe in its location, but he's also pretty terrified to get near it. He finally settles for pushing the dresser in front of his door, and he carefully moves the egg, without breaking it, to the corner of his room, where nobody can land on it, or into it, since he also makes a buffer, by pulling a the shelf out of his closet and making a temporary wall. The egg is completely encased in softness, with a makeshift wall.

Finally, Ichigo lays back down, and he falls asleep. He has a very strange dream. It's the first one in months that isn't a sex dream involving Rukia.

Instead, he dreams about her damned egg. He dreams that she comes back to tell him it's an unfertilized egg, and that being anywhere near him, could have fertilized it, particularly if he touched it.

"It's extremely important that you stay away from it. I want Renji to be the one to fertilize my egg." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo stares at her in horror.

"But you love me! You've been making love to me!" Ichigo argues, and Rukia scoffs at him.

"You're not even a real Shinigami." Rukia tells him coldly.

Ichigo wakes up in a cold sweat.

"That's not going to happen…it better not happen, I'll kill Renji." Ichigo mutters, and he stares towards the egg.

It's hidden from his view, so he walks over, and looks down at it. It's kind of a large egg. Almost the size of a football.

Ichigo sighs, as he stares at the egg, that Rukia seems to have abandoned. He wonders why she's not here, and why she didn't bother to wake him up and explain to him what it was doing in his bedroom, and why it was so damned important.

The nagging feeling tugs at him again.

_Is there something already in it, growing? Don't Shinigami give birth, like humans? They were originally humans in the first place, right? This egg isn't really Rukia's, right? It can't be. I can imagine her being pregnant perfectly, she'd look like a tiny ball or something. I cannot picture her laying an egg no matter how hard I try._

"Where in the hell is she, anyways? I want a fucking explanation for this freaky mystery, right now." Ichigo grumbles, as he stares at the egg some more. He can't stop staring, and wondering, what in the hell she'll tell him when she finally reappears.

_Meanwhile…_

"Kuchiki-san, you have been asking me pointless questions for hours now. Is there something specific that you're wondering about?" Urahara asks, while Rukia has been probing him about the possibilities of humans and Shinigami reproducing.

"Actually there is. Even though you haven't said anything that can help me, I suppose I'll just have to come out and ask you bluntly. Have you ever known of a case, where a Shinigami laid an egg?" Rukia asks him, trying her hardest not to blush.

His eyes grow very large, and he pushes his hat up as he stares at her in total shock.

"An egg you say? Kuchiki-san…did _you_ lay an egg?!" Kisuke asks, and Rukia slowly nods her head yes.

"This morning, before dawn even hit, I woke up, feeling a terrible pain in my stomach. I didn't make any noise, but within ten minutes of the feeling, I began to lay the egg, as I laid down. It hurt like a bitch." Rukia tells him, and Urahara's mouth is gaped open.

"I must see it." Urahara says, and Rukia glares at him.

"I want information, or the answer to you request will be, I will never let you see it!" Rukia threatens him, and Kisuke looks disappointed.

"I understand, I'll tell you what I know, but don't shoot the messenger…" Urahara says, and that statement makes Rukia nervous.

"Spit it out you greedy merchant!" Rukia orders him, and Kisuke nods his head in defeat.

"There have only been three other cases that I have heard about where this phenomenon occurred. Shinigami women, that get pregnant by a human male, will lay an egg, rather than gestate the normal way. It's only my belief, but it makes sense that typically a human male would not be strong enough to defend a weakened pregnant Shinigami, so to ensure the survival of the future offspring, the Shinigami lays an egg rather than gestating, since she can perfectly defend her egg shortly after laying it." Kisuke says, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"I should mention there was a strong reiatsu coming from the egg. It made it difficult for me to even move." Rukia admits, and Urahara's eyes widen.

"I must see it. When can I see it?" Urahara asks, looking like a child who can't wait to open their Christmas presents.

"Show up in Ichigo's room in about an hour. First I need to explain this egg deal to him." Rukia mutters, and Urahara nods.

"See you in an hour." Urahara says, and Rukia hurries out the door.

She runs back to Ichigo's house, and hops up in the window. She doesn't see the egg where she left it, but she sees Ichigo standing over and staring down at the corner of his room, which is blocked by the shelf she usually sleeps on.

"Did you break it?" Rukia asks in a hard voice, and Ichigo's head jerks to face her.

"No. I was worried my father would bust in and accidentally break it though, so I moved it to the corner of the room." Ichigo says carefully, as he looks at her.

"I suppose you're wondering about the egg…" Rukia says, and Ichigo gives her a disbelieving look.

"That's the understatement of the fucking century…wondering? I haven't been able to do anything other than think about this thing." Ichigo says as he looks down.

Rukia moves slowly towards him, due to the reiatsu coming from the egg, and she stands next to him to look down.

"When that egg hatches, it will be our offspring." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo's jaw drops.

"You laid a fucking egg? Why couldn't you just get pregnant like a normal woman?" Ichigo asks her in disbelief.

"Shut up." Rukia growls, as she turns pink. "I only laid an egg because you're human anyways." Rukia mutters at him, and Ichigo just stares at her a moment.

"Are we supposed to…do anything? Does it need to be incubated?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia shrugs.

"I have no clue. Urahara will be here in under an hour to take a look at it. Maybe he can tell us how we're supposed to care for it." Rukia says in a tight voice.

"Most eggs need to be kept warm or insulated." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia gives him a helpless look.

"Don't scare me like that." Rukia says, and Ichigo just gives her a look.

"I'm just telling you what I know. Even reptiles bury their eggs to keep them insulated." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia starts to get panicky.

Ichigo watches as she moves the shelf, picks up the egg, and moves it into his bed. She curls around it, and looks at him.

"Get in here with me. We'll keep it warm together." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo nods his head.

He climbs into the bed with her, and they're both cuddled around their egg.

"This is weird." Ichigo whispers, and Rukia scowls at him.

"Well excuse me!" Rukia feels insulted, and snaps at him, causing Ichigo to roll his eyes at her.

"Chill. How long before you think this thing would actually hatch?" Ichigo asks her, and Rukia shrugs.

"Maybe we should make a list of questions for Urahara to give us the answers." Rukia says, and Ichigo nods.

"Did it hurt to lay it?" Ichigo asks next and Rukia blushes.

"Yeah." Rukia says, and Ichigo just stares into her eyes.

"Sorry." Ichigo says, and Rukia bites her lip.

"You know…this egg seems so vulnerable." Rukia says, and Ichigo nods.

They stare into each other's eyes, quietly for several minutes, before Ichigo finally speaks.

"How are we going to explain this egg to my family?" Ichigo asks her, and Rukia shakes her head.

"I imagine we'll just be forthright…" Rukia says, and Ichigo turns bright red.

"A fucking egg…" Ichigo mutters as he stares at the thing.

"If you're not happy about it then-" Rukia starts to say defensively, but Ichigo reaches over the egg and claps his hand over her mouth.

"I'm in a state of shock. I'm not unhappy." Ichigo tells her, not wanting her to finish whatever she was about to say.

Rukia closes her eyes, and nods off, while Ichigo stays awake, wondering how long they'll have to care for this strange egg. It's quiet for fifteen minutes, and Ichigo wonders if a baby hatched from an egg will be the same as one that is born the normal human way.

"Am I early?" Urahara's voice wakes Rukia from her sleep, and Urahara in the window hops in, and he has a look of surprise on his face, since he can't move normally like he expected to be able to.

"Urahara-san!" Ichigo says, as the man moves slowly to the bed, to look down at the egg laying in between them.

"Wow. This is my first time actually seeing a Shinigami egg." Urahara breathes, as he looks at it, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"Wait…you've never seen one before?" Ichigo's voice is practically a squeak.

"Well Kurosaki-san, it's extremely rare for Shinigami to lay eggs. It only happens when a female Shinigami reproduces with a human male." Urahara explains, and Ichigo glances at Rukia.

_So that's what she meant._

"Is there some sort of special way we're supposed to care for this egg? Ichigo said something about incubating it…" Rukia says to Urahara.

"Well I was extremely fascinated by the rarity of Shinigami eggs, back when I was the captain of the Twelfth Division, and according to what I know, you really only have to worry about the egg not breaking. The reiatsu of the two of you actually resonates with the egg, without you even trying, to keep it at the correct temperature." Urahara explains, and Ichigo speaks up.

"How long before this thing hatches?" Ichigo asks, and Urahara smiles at him.

"That depends. Of the three records of eggs that I got my hands on, they were all different lengths of time. None took as long as a typical gestation, the longest one took to hatch was four months." Urahara explains.

"And the quickest?" Rukia inquires.

"Two months." Urahara says.

"Why such different amounts of time?" Ichigo asks, and Urahara nods.

"I imagine it's because the nutrition in the egg was all used up. When that happens, it will hatch." Urahara says, and Rukia nods, as she sits up, and stares at the egg.

"I see." Rukia says, and Ichigo sits up as well.

"This house isn't exactly the safest place for this egg, as long as my family remains unaware of the situation." Ichigo says, and Rukia nods.

"I'd like to document the case with this egg. May I visit everyday, to monitor this rare but amazing event?" Urahara asks, and Ichigo nods his head.

"Yeah, you can come back tomorrow." Ichigo says. "We may have some more questions for you." Ichigo adds, and Urahara nods before he slowly walks to the window and jumps out.

"So we have at least two months of watching this egg, or longer." Rukia says, as she carefully picks it up and moves it back to its safe spot in the corner of the room.

"I'm going to get my father, so we can talk to him, though I don't know how we're supposed to make him believe this. As a doctor, he'll be very hard to convince, that you actually laid an egg with our offspring inside." Ichigo tells her, before he stands up and hurries out of his room.

Rukia realizes Ichigo has no trouble moving in the presence of the reiatsu coming from the egg.

"This kid is going to take after him…I can already tell." Rukia grumbles.

She waits anxiously for Ichigo and his father to appear, and when they do, Isshin smiles at the both of them.

"So what is this important thing you wanted to tell me?" Isshin asks curiously, not noticing the egg in the corner, or the reiatsu coming off of it.

"See…Rukia is a Shinigami…" Ichigo starts out, and Isshin raises an eyebrow, before looking at Rukia.

"Is that so?" Isshin asks, as though he's amused.

"Shut up! This is serious! Because she's a Shinigami, if she gets pregnant by a human, she doesn't gestate like human women do. She uh…" Ichigo trails off, turning bright red.

"I laid an egg." Rukia provides helpfully, and they succeed in shocking the hell out of Isshin.

"You laid an egg?" Isshin asks dubiously, and Rukia nods her head yes.

"I did, indeed." Rukia confirms, and for once, Isshin is speechless.

Ichigo goes to the corner, and carefully picks up the egg, sweating with fear as he holds it, and carefully walks over to his father, while holding it.

"See?" Ichigo says, and his father stares at the egg, and then touches it, before a huge smile appears on his face.

"I'll make a special place for this egg, until it hatches! Trust my idiot son to do everything in an unconventional way." Isshin mutters, as he runs his finger over the egg's smooth white surface.

_The Next Day…_

"What in the hell is this?!" Ichigo asks, as there appears to be an egg shrine, rather than a special place for the egg.

"Ooh…it's like it's being showcased!" Rukia says, and Ichigo glares at her.

"Don't be impressed by that." Ichigo hisses, before he runs off, to find his father.

Rukia stares at the egg, and wonders what their offspring will be like, when it finally hatches.

_I bet laying that egg was a hell of a lot less painful than actually giving birth._


	65. As Requested: Rukia's Egg 2

**A/N-Because it was such a popular story with several requests, I decided to get hopping on it right away! The truth is, I fell in love with the idea the instant after I had it, and I'm so thrilled that so many of you asked for a continuation, so because there were so many requests, I'm pushing it in front of the others…but the other requests will also be posted soon, promise! This is dedicated to everyone that wanted it, please enjoy!**

_Rukia's Egg 2_

Rukia stays right by the showcased egg, staring at it, with many thoughts running through her head.

_What kind of baby will hatch from this egg? Will it be a boy or a girl? How long until it hatches? Is Ichigo really upset that I didn't get pregnant like a normal woman? What will his sisters say?_

She suddenly hears Ichigo's voice raised, as he yells at his father, for making a weird thing, somehow seem even weirder.

_Now I'm weird…I could just kick him in his nuts._

A knock at the door, interrupts her thoughts, (a good thing for Ichigo) and Rukia goes to answer the door. She is very surprised to see Ishida standing there with a worried look on his face.

"Kuchiki-san…I have tried to ignore it, but I sense a strange Shinigami presence in the area…actually, it seems to be coming from in the house." Ishida says, and he wonders if he shouldn't have worried.

Perhaps they have invited this unknown Shinigami over, and he's only intruding. He cannot for the life of him place the reiatsu. He never notices how Rukia begins to blush furiously from his observation, because he's too wrapped up in his own thoughts.

"Um…yeah. I laid an egg." Rukia announces, and that gets Ishida's attention better than she ever imagined it could.

"Say what?" Ishida says, staring at her as though he's a bit disturbed by her words.

"You didn't hear wrong." Rukia says, and the look on Ishida's face is one of complete bewilderment.

"Kuchiki-san…you laid…an egg?" Ishida whispers, and Rukia nods her head in a pleased manner.

"Want to see?" Rukia asks, and Ishida just nods his head.

_This I have to see._

Rukia leads Ishida over to the showcased egg, and notices that he too must move slower around the egg, unlike Ichigo and his insane father.

Ishida stares at the egg, and then looks at Rukia's small frame, before looking back at the egg.

"I don't believe my eyes." Ishida whispers, and Rukia smiles.

"Ishida! What in the hell are you doing here?" Ichigo's voice is quite loud, from arguing with his father, and Ishida flinches at the volume of it.

"He came over because he could sense the reiatsu of our egg." Rukia supplies, and Ichigo starts to blush.

"This certainly isn't something you see everyday." Ishida announces, causing Ichigo to cross his arms and glare dangerously.

"Do you got something to say about it?" Ichigo asks in a threatening tone, which Ishida quickly picks up on.

"Uh…no. It's a very beautiful egg." Ishida says, feeling like he could be jumped any minute.

_Kurosaki looks ready to fight right now._

"You're damned right it is." Ichigo says, and he quickly walks over to stand next to Rukia, who is smiling at how protective he is, over their egg. It makes her really happy.

Ishida starts to back away. He gives them both a smile.

"Congratulations!" Ishida says, before he turns and dashes out of the Kurosaki residence.

"Now I have to go call Sado." Ichigo grumbles, as he heads away to go grab the portable.

_Ishida will tell everyone…I should at least call Sado…and what in the fuck are we going to tell Byakuya!?_

Rukia chuckles, as she grabs a chair, and pulls it over to sit by the egg.

"He's so protective of you already, even if he does think it's weird." Rukia whispers, as she looks longingly at the egg.

_Later…_

Inoue and Sado both step into the house, since Ishida told Inoue about the egg. The pair of friends had decided to visit the Kurosaki residence together, rather than coming at different times, and they're welcomed in, by Rukia.

"Is it true, Kuchiki-san!? Did you truly lay an egg?" Inoue bluntly asks, and Rukia blushingly nods.

"Yep. I can show you." Rukia says, and Sado wears the same type of expression he wore, the first time he saw Yoruichi, talk, as a cat.

"What has Kurosaki-kun and his family said?" Inoue asks, as Rukia leads them towards the egg. They all start to slow down, unintentionally. It's the effect of the egg.

"His sisters haven't seen it yet. They spent the weekend at a friend's house, but Ichigo's father is very happy. Ichigo is happy, and stressed." Rukia reports, and Sado nods.

"Where is Ichigo?" Sado asks, and Rukia shakes her head, since she's not sure why he's not with her to show off their egg.

"I think he's here somewhere." Rukia mutters, and Inoue nods her head.

"He is, I can sense him." Inoue says, and then they turn the corner.

Their question is answered. Ichigo is sitting on the same chair Rukia was sitting on earlier, sleeping with his head resting against the see through case that the egg is in.

"Ichigo!" Rukia shrieks, and he pops out of the chair in an instant.

"What!?" Ichigo responds with his fists up, ready to beat the crap out of the two newcomers, until he realizes it's Sado and Inoue.

"Don't lean on the egg case and fall asleep!" Rukia says, and Ichigo glares at her.

"Don't fucking scream like that!" Ichigo snaps back at her, causing Sado and Inoue to look at each other uncertainly.

"Sorry Sado, Inoue. Here it is, our egg!" Rukia says, as she presents their egg to their friends.

Sado gulps, as he looks at the egg, glances at Rukia, and then at Ichigo.

"You really…laid an egg." Sado says, and Rukia turns pink at his tone. He made it sound like she just pulled off something impossible.

"I'm not the first Shinigami ever to do so!" Rukia defends herself, and Ichigo rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, you're the fourth case that Urahara-san has heard of." Ichigo grumbles, and Rukia flicks his ear.

"It's your fault!" Rukia huffs, and Ichigo nods his head.

"Yeah, go ahead and blame me, you played no part in this whatsoever." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia elbows him in the gut, while Sado and Inoue both stare fascinated at the egg.

"Don't be condescending…I'll kick your ass…" Rukia growls, and Ichigo shuts up.

Inoue looks at them, and her eyes are wide.

"I've never seen anything like it. Congratulations." Inoue says, as she stares at the two of them.

Ichigo puts a hand on Rukia's shoulder, and nods at Inoue.

"Thanks." Ichigo says, and Inoue stares up at him, wondering if he's really happy, that Kuchiki-san laid an egg for him.

"Will you call me when it hatches?" Sado asks curiously, and Ichigo nods.

"Definitely." Ichigo says, and Inoue nods.

"Me too!" She says, curious beyond all to see exactly what will hatch out of the egg, that belongs to Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san.

"We'll definitely call you over." Rukia assures them, and Ichigo nods. Inoue leans over to whisper to Rukia.

"I can't believe you laid an egg." The whispered comment makes Rukia practically turn purple.

"Neither can I." She responds back to her long haired friend, as Sado looks at Ichigo.

"Are you okay with this egg deal?" Sado asks, and Ichigo looks surprised for a moment, but then he grins at his best friend.

"Yeah…I've gotten over it." The confident smile on Ichigo's face after he says that, is all Sado needs to be sure his friend really means it.

"Well, we won't intrude anymore, thanks for letting us see it." Sado says, and Ichigo nods.

Rukia walks their friends out, and Ichigo realizes that he really hasn't acted very happy about the egg. He really is happy, even if it is weird…and he thinks it's time he let the egg layer, know.

When she comes back into view, he realizes that she's walking quite slowly.

"Rukia…are you okay?" Ichigo asks, as he studies her, and she looks surprised at his question.

"Of course, why do you ask?" She asks, and he shrugs.

"You're moving slower than usual." He comments, and her eyes widen.

"You only just noticed? I am forced to move slower when I'm near the egg. So far, only you and your father aren't affected by it." Rukia tells him, and he can't hide his surprise.

_Why didn't I notice that sooner?_

Ichigo walks over to Rukia, and he puts his hands on her shoulders, as he meets her eyes directly.

"Have I mentioned how happy I am…about this?" Ichigo asks, as he waves his hand to indicate their egg.

"No…I don't believe that you have." Rukia tells him, even as a warm feeling fills her heart.

"Well…I really am." Ichigo whispers, and he leans down to kiss her.

_Later…_

"We're home!" Karin yells, as she and Yuzu enter the house. Karin immediately looks around suspiciously. She can sense something amiss.

"Hello!" Yuzu calls out next, and their father dashes into view.

Before either sister can protest, they're both wrapped up in a big hug.

"Your brother is going to be a father!" Isshin tells them as he hugs them, surprising them enough that they don't struggle in his grasp.

"He got Rukia-chan pregnant?" Yuzu inquires, and Isshin laughs.

"Not exactly…" Isshin says, and Karin gawks.

"He got Orihime-chan pregnant?" Karin asks, and Isshin's eyes widen.

"Yuzu's guess was much closer," Their father tells them, and Karin raises an eyebrow.

"Okay, go ahead and explain how Ichi-ni will be a father." Karin says, wanting to know the details.

"Rukia-chan laid an egg!" Isshin announces, as he lets go of his girls, and they both fall to their asses in response.

"Very funny!" Karin snaps at her father as she stands up and punches him in the face.

"I wasn't lying…" Isshin moans as he holds his face where his tough daughter just punched him.

"What in the hell is going on?" Ichigo asks, as he appears around the corner.

"Dad just tried telling us, that Rukia-chan laid an egg!" Yuzu says, and Ichigo looks embarrassed. He scratches his face as he regards his sisters.

"Well…she did." Ichigo confirms, causing both of his sisters to gawk at him in complete shock.

"You're both nuts!" Karin shrieks, and she stomps past her brother, but in her way to the stairs, she finds the egg shrine, with Rukia sitting next to it.

"Hi!" Rukia says brightly, and Karin eyes the egg as she scowls and crosses her arms. Rukia realizes his sister isn't affected by the egg's reiatsu either.

"Isn't this taking the joke, just a little bit too far?" Karin questions Rukia, as Yuzu hurries around the corner, and gawks at the egg. Isshin and Ichigo follow on her tail.

"Joke?" Rukia asks in confusion, and Yuzu can only stare at the egg while Karin growls in anger.

Isshin is holding back his laughter, and Ichigo just looks concerned about the exchange happening at the moment.

"The egg." Karin says, as she motions to it.

"When it hatches, it will be Ichigo's and my offspring." Rukia tells her, and Karin is speechless, since her brother's girlfriend doesn't appear to be joking at all.

"Who lays an egg?" Karin roars in disbelief, and Rukia blushes.

"I did." Rukia responds, and Ichigo glares at his sister.

Karin looks at her brother, then she looks back at Rukia, then she looks at her father, and then she looks at the egg.

"You're serious aren't you?" Karin whispers, with wide eyes, and Rukia smiles hugely.

"Yep." Rukia says cheerfully, and Karin just walks towards the stairs grumbling.

"Why does our family have to be so dysfunctional?" She can't get over it…her brother's girlfriend laid a freaking egg.

Yuzu still hasn't gotten over her shock, as she studies the rather large egg.

"How long until it hatches?" Yuzu finally asks, and Rukia turns towards her.

"We're not entirely sure. We think somewhere between two and four months." Rukia explains, and Ichigo nods.

"Unbelievable…" Yuzu breathes, before she goes to find and talk to her sister.

"I wish I'd have gotten the camera out! Their faces were priceless!" Isshin chortles, and Ichigo throws him a glare.

"Karin looked like she could have an emotional breakdown." Ichigo growls, causing Isshin to laugh harder.

"At least everyone knows." Rukia says, and Ichigo throws her, his next glare.

"Not quite everyone." Ichigo says with a flash in his eyes, and Rukia realizes…he means ni-sama.

"Everyone knows!" Rukia argues, and Ichigo crosses his arms.

"So you aren't going to tell anybody, back home?" Ichigo asks pointedly, and Rukia shakes her head.

"Not until it hatches…if anyone broke the egg…I think I'd die inside." Rukia whispers, and Ichigo sighs.

_I can't deny her this. She's understandably scared._

"Nobody's breaking the egg, but I guess we can wait until after…even though your brother may well challenge me to a duel." Ichigo says carefully, knowing his father is listening in. Rukia smiles hugely as she hugs him hard.

"Thank you, Ichigo!" She can't help feeling like she might cry in happiness at his constant support.

_Three months later…_

"It's hatching!" Ichigo's loud yell draws everyone in the house to the location of the egg, where it is showcased, but Rukia gets there first. The egg is shaking, and it's cracked.

"Can't we help it?" Rukia asks, just as Isshin arrives, and unlocks the top of the case, so that the open air is hitting it, not just from the air holes at the bottom.

"I'd prefer if you didn't. I want to get the broken shells dipped in gold, and keep them here, in this case." Isshin says, and Ichigo glares at his father, before he grabs Rukia to hold her in his arms, while they both stare at the egg.

"It might need help." Ichigo says, and Karin just stares at the crack in the egg.

"I'm so curious! Hatch already!" Karin says in an excited tone, and she holds her sister's hand.

"My camera!" Isshin screams, and he tears off to go locate it.

Everyone's eyes are on the egg, as another crack forms on it, and Ichigo holds Rukia a little bit tighter. Rukia's mouth is half open as she stares at the cracks in the egg, and she feels like her heart will rip, if she has to wait much longer.

"Is that strange man coming by again today?" Karin asks, but nobody pays any attention to her, as she asks about Urahara.

Isshin comes charging back.

"Did I miss anything?" He yells, and Yuzu smiles.

"More cracks have appeared." Yuzu informs him, and Isshin begins snapping away.

"My first grandchild!" Isshin says, and Karin crosses her arms.

"Is hatching from an egg…" Karin mutters under her breath, but then the egg shakes again, silencing her.

Rukia holds her breath as they hear another crack, and a small piece of the egg breaks off, while a little white hand reaches out into the open air.

"Our baby's hand!" Rukia says excitedly, and she's ready to reach in, and help her infant out, but then the egg cracks again, and splits into several pieces, revealing a naked baby is laying on its back, kicking its arms and legs.

"You had a boy!" Isshin says excitedly, as he gets a gander at the baby.

Orange hair…blue eyes…and a big scowl.

Rukia reaches down, and touches her baby boy's hand, and he lets out a loud cry.

Isshin reaches down, and laughs when he sees the baby's stomach.

"Yet it still has a belly button." Isshin laughs, and picks up his grandchild, while Rukia watches nervously. Isshin hurries off to wash the baby, and he quickly brings him back, to hear Rukia's announcement.

"I already picked out a name." She says, and Ichigo smiles, since she shared that with him a month ago, when they laid in bed together.

"What will his name be, Rukia-chan?" Yuzu breathes, as she gets a good look at her nephew, who already looks very much like her brother.

"Kaito." The happy new mother responds with a soft smile on her face, as Isshin passes her the baby.

"It doesn't really fit him, but she liked the way it sounded." Ichigo says, and Rukia pouts.

"It does too fit him." Rukia argues, as Ichigo leans over to touch his baby's soft head.

"It's just like a newborn." Isshin says in amazement, and Rukia nods.

"Let me hold him." Ichigo says, and Rukia passes their son to him.

The proud and happy smile that comes across his face, is identical to the look his father gave, the first time he held him, not that Ichigo realizes that fact. A strong wave or reiatsu forces Ichigo to pass the baby to his father.

"Rukia." Byakuya's voice sounds at the top of the stairs, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"Why is ni-sama here now?!" Rukia asks, and Ichigo shrugs.

"Rukia!" Byakuya starts to come down the stairs, and Rukia begins to panic.

"Ni-sama?" Rukia squeaks, causing the entire Kurosaki family to look as Byakuya appears. Yuzu looks around in confusion.

"Is someone here?" Yuzu asks quietly. Nobody answers her.

"The Twelfth Division picked up on some odd reiatsu around this house, and I was sent to check it out." Byakuya says, but he stop short when he sees the baby in Isshin's arms, and the cracked egg in the case behind them.

"Oh." Rukia says, as she glances at Ichigo.

"That would be the reiatsu from Rukia's and my child, I would imagine." Ichigo says, and Byakuya's eyes widen. He stares at the baby a bit more.

"When were you planning on telling me?" Byakuya asks Rukia, who starts to shake.

"Soon…" Rukia says in a choked voice, and Byakuya glares at Ichigo.

"She didn't want you to lose your temper, and break the egg." Ichigo mutters, and Byakuya looks stumped.

"Egg?" Byakuya asks, and Isshin nods as he points at the recently broken egg.

"The baby was just born! Or should I say hatched?" Isshin asks, and Byakuya stares, before he shakes his head in annoyance. He glares at Rukia.

"This is what happens when you mate with a human." Byakuya's voice is tight, and Ichigo finds himself getting incredibly angry at the man's rudeness.

"Do you have a problem with our baby?" Ichigo asks angrily, and Byakuya meets his stare with equal anger.

"I have a problem with the fact that you hid this behind my back. When do you plan to get married?" Byakuya asks, and Ichigo snaps at him.

"Soon!" Rukia tenses up next to Ichigo, as he answers her brother speedily.

"Were you planning on getting my blessing?" Byakuya asks, and Ichigo's eyes glitter from his annoyance.

"I wouldn't need it to be with Rukia." Ichigo snaps, and Byakuya closes his eyes a moment to calm down. The new father is obviously very defensive.

"Do you want me to take you and the baby back to-" Byakuya starts to ask, but Ichigo pops out of his body with his blade to Byakuya's neck before he can finish his statement.

Everyone gawks, though Yuzu's the only one looking at Ichigo's lifeless body on the floor. Everyone else is watching Ichigo in his Shinigami form threaten Rukia's brother.

"If you try to take my baby anywhere without my permission, I'll kill you." Ichigo says flatly, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"Ni-sama, no! I want to raise this baby with his father!" Rukia says, and Byakuya nods.

"Then I will leave. I'll make sure it's allowed to happen." Byakuya says wisely, and Ichigo withdraws his sword. "Congratulations, Rukia."

"Ni-sama…" Rukia mutters in shock, as her brother disappears.

"Thank goodness he's gone." Ichigo says, as he gets back into his body, freaking Yuzu out.

"Don't worry about it, Yuzu." Karin says, realizing how confused her sister is.

Isshin hands the baby to Rukia, and begins snapping pictures of the new family. Ichigo's smile returns with the disappearance of Rukia's brother.

_Nobody is going to tear apart my family. Rukia and Kaito will stay with me._

The tense atmosphere is gone, and the couple finally have plenty of time to revel over their new infant.

Rukia and Ichigo spend hours, taking turns, holding little Kaito. After many kisses exchanged, they both come to an agreement.

_The most beautiful baby in the world, was hatched from an egg._

**A/N-Kaito means ocean or sea plus fly, or soar. I almost named him Tsubasa meaning wing, but I liked Kaito better!**


	66. As Requested: Rukia's Drawings 3

**A/N- I had a request to continue Rukia's Drawings, where Ichigo gets jealous of Renji, it's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Rukia's Drawings 3_

Ichigo is very confused. He's admitted that he loves her drawings, and he drew her a stick figure picture that told her that he loves her, and she even said she'd save the drawing, to show their kids. Nothing beyond that, has happened, though.

He hears her voice, out in the hallway, and so he peeks his head out, to see her chatting on her phone, sounding very excited, just before she enters the bedroom reserved for the girls in the house.

"Why is she so happy?" Ichigo grumbles, and he goes to lay in his bed, as he considers the situation.

_It's not like we have to rush, she's here for good._

Yet, he feels very unfulfilled. Since he's confessed, he figured more would happen between the two of them.

_But she hasn't even said that she loves me yet. Why not? I told her, in my own way, the least she could do, is not act as though nothing has happened since then._

She hasn't even tortured him with any drawings for the past few days, which has him even more nervous.

The object of his desire, bursts into his room with a huge smile on her face.

"Renji's coming to visit! I haven't seen him in months, and I promised him we'd do something fun!" Rukia says excitedly, causing Ichigo to glare at her.

"Who is we?" Suspicion laces his voice, and it doesn't escape her.

"Me and Renji." Rukia says, with a bit of a frown, as she sees his face darken.

"You and Renji…" Ichigo mutters, and Rukia gives him a look of puzzlement.

"Yeah, his birthday just passed, and I have a present for him." Rukia says, and Ichigo looks even less happy at that news.

"What kind of present?" He asks, wondering if he'll feel relieved or pissed off at her answer.

"Well, part of his present is to take him out and have fun. The other part…hang on." She stops and dashes out of his room.

Ichigo taps his fingers on the bed as he waits for her to return. He doesn't have to wait long, she returns with a sketch Pad, and she opens it. She pulls out a large loose sketch from within the book, to show it to him.

"I don't believe it! You can draw Renji?!" Ichigo yells, as he looks at a very well done mug shot drawing, of her red haired friend.

"I perfected drawing his face decades ago! I haven't given him a drawing in ages, so I'm sure he'll love it." Rukia says defensively, and she cannot believe the anger that is showing in his eyes.

She puts the drawing back in the sketchbook, and takes a few steps backwards. She has this horrible feeling that Ichigo would also rip up this drawing, if he could get his hands on it. He does _not_ look pleased.

"So when is he getting here?" Ichigo asks in a tight voice, and Rukia suddenly feels guilty, though she has no idea why.

"This evening." She tells him, nervously, and he nods his head.

"I hope you have a lot of fun with Renji." He says it sarcastically, and it gets under her skin, since he shouldn't sound like he doesn't mean it.

_Is he upset because I'm going to hang out with Renji?!_

"I'm sure we _will_ have fun." Rukia snaps at him, before she turns to walk out of the room. She just doesn't like how he seemed so glum because she's taking a friend out for a belated birthday celebration.

Ichigo watches the door close behind her, and he glares at the closed door.

"Bitch." Ichigo mutters, referring to his one true love.

_Later…_

When Renji knocks on the door to the Kurosaki residence, Rukia dashes for the door, aggravating Ichigo even more, since the family just finished up dinner. Ichigo stands out of view, to listen to their greeting.

"Renji! I'm so happy you're here! Happy belated birthday!" Rukia gushes, and Ichigo scowls.

"Thanks Rukia, I'm anxious for my gift, and for our date." Renji tells her, causing Ichigo to nearly growl in anger.

"Hang on, let me go get your gift!" Rukia exclaims, and Ichigo moves out of sight, as Rukia flies by the kitchen, and up the stairs.

Ichigo saunters out into Renji's view when he hears Rukia's feet dashing up the stairs. He wishes she didn't look so damned beautiful in the pale pink dress that she chose to wear for the outing.

"Yo, Ichigo!" Renji says with a big smile, and Ichigo forces a smile in return.

"Hey. I hear it was just your birthday." He mutters, and Renji nods with a smile.

"I haven't celebrated a birthday with Rukia, in ages." Renji admits with a grin.

It makes Ichigo want to shout to Renji that he and Rukia have started a thing, so for him not to try any shit, but he can't get the words out. He loses out on saying anything, because Rukia comes running back, with her sketch, and it's framed. Ichigo wonders when she took care of that detail, since it had no frame when she showed it to him.

"Wow, you did a really nice job!" Renji says, as he blushes, and looks at Rukia's very well done drawing of him.

"Thanks!" Rukia says, beaming at him.

"I think this is better than what you used to do in the past, and I wasn't even modeling for this one." Renji says with a laugh, making Ichigo's scowl grow more angry.

"I worked hard on it." Rukia tells him, and Renji just gives her a lovesick puppy dog look, which Ichigo can not stand.

"Rukia." Ichigo says, and Rukia turns to look at him.

Ichigo leans down, and presses his lips firmly against hers, something that hasn't happened, since he gave her his own stick figure drawing. He succeeds in shocking the hell out of her, because as he's closing his eyes, he sees hers widen. Renji gawks as Ichigo starts to pull away, and forces a smile on his face.

Suddenly there's clapping and cheering behind them all, and Ichigo blushes as he pulls the rest of the way away, to glare at his loud father.

"Nice one, son! That's one way to do it!" Isshin boom, and Ichigo shakes his head, before he looks at Rukia.

"Have fun." Ichigo says, and then he turns to walk up the stairs, leaving Rukia openmouthed. She blushes, as she touches her lips with her index finger, and then looks at Renji with stars in her eyes.

"Come on," Rukia says, and Renji follows her out.

"So you two are an item now?" Renji asks quietly, and Rukia nods her head.

"I guess you could say that…it was only the second time we've kissed." Rukia admits, and Renji gives her a longing look that she completely misses.

"Somehow I always knew you two would end up together." Renji says, even though that fact makes him just a little bit sad.

_What about us, Rukia?_

"I always knew it too." Rukia whispers, surprising her friend. "And I'm in it for keeps, which is why we haven't rushed into anything. He surprised me, kissing me in front of you like that." Rukia tells him, and Renji realizes Ichigo wasn't happy about her going out alone with him.

"Well…for tonight, you're mine." Renji says, liking the way it sounds on his lips.

Rukia holds her smile, even though she really doesn't like the way he phrased that. In her mind, she's always Ichigo's, even if she's out having fun with Renji.

_Later…_

Ichigo sees Rukia returning to the house, before she even gets to the door, and he's anxious to see her.

_I just want to grab her up and kiss her again_…

He walks out of his room, and posts himself at the top of the stairs, in the dark, waiting for her to appear. He can clearly hear her saying goodnight to Renji, and he breathes a sigh of relief, when he hears the front door close.

When Rukia gets to the top of the stairs, she sees Ichigo with an intense look in his eyes.

"Come here." Ichigo says, and he drags her into his room, and pushes her in a sitting position on his bed.

"Ichigo?" Rukia asks nervously, and he blushes at her.

"You wanted a striptease, didn't you?" Ichigo asks her, with red cheeks, and her eyes widen to huge proportions as she remembers her drawing…

"You're…going to strip?" Rukia squeaks, as Ichigo's hands go to the bottom of his shirt.

"You're the one who drew it." Ichigo reminds her, and she blushes beautifully for him.

_I drew that last week! What's with him!?_

Rukia's chin comes up, and she crosses her arms. Ichigo breathes a bit heavier, as she gives him an expectant look.

"You've got my attention." Rukia tells him, and she blinks a few times, as Ichigo rises to the challenge.

First, his shirt comes off, and _god damn _he has a nice chest, so masculine, along with a sexy, defined six pack.

Ichigo doesn't know whether or not to be happy or embarrassed, since her eyes and mind are completely on him, not anyone else…but he's never stripped for a girl before, and doesn't quite have the know how, on how to make it really sexy.

He moves his hands, slowly to his pants, where he unbuttons and unzips them, and he watches as she swallows loudly. Ichigo on impulse, turns around, and drops his pants, to reveal his boxers, with his backside to her, and he glances over his shoulder, to see her eyes are glued to his rear end.

"Do you like looking at my ass?" Ichigo asks her with a blush, and she turns red at that observation.

"You should come closer…" Rukia says, in a tight voice, and he slowly turns to face her.

"Are you ready for the rest?" He asks, not yet moving closer to her.

Rukia's mouth is wide open as she finally meets his eyes directly. Her voice is a squeak as she responds.

"Yeah…" Rukia says, feeling her whole body begin to heat up, as his hands go to the waistband of his boxers.

"You're not going on anymore dates with other guys, right?" Ichigo asks her, and Rukia gawks at him.

"I guess not…" Rukia says, not even understanding why he'd ask that, as his boxers come down in one fluid movement.

Her eyes are as big as dinner plates, as she gets the full view of his naked body.

_Why does he have to be such a gorgeous hunk?!_

He finally steps closer to her, not that she can move at this point, and he gives her a look that she can't quite figure out. She reaches out hesitantly, but he doesn't back away, and she puts one hand on his leg, and the other on his abs.

Ichigo leans down to kiss her, before whispering in her ear.

"I'd better be the only guy you look at, naked." His words stun her, but then he pushes her back on the bed and begins to kiss her, while working her pink dress upward.

Rukia can hardly gather her thoughts, but one thing becomes crystal clear, as Ichigo's hands slide up her belly, and to her breasts.

_He was jealous of Renji! Why didn't I realize that sooner?_

"And you'd better not look at any other women…" Rukia mutters, as he slides her dress up over her head.

_Like I could…_

"Only one girl ever gets my attention." Ichigo mutters, as he presses kisses along her neck and upper chest. Rukia is still in a state of shock at how quickly everything has started to happen.

_I thought we were taking it slow…_

Things don't always go as planned, but this is a pleasant surprise, in her mind.

_I love feeling his muscles, beneath my hands…_

They're both breathing heavily, as he flips her over, and begins to kiss her lightly, up and down the center of her back, causing her to shiver with pleasure. Rukia feels him slide her underwear down, and his hands cover her butt cheeks, and he squeezes them with a low sexy growl.

"Does this mean you'll act out my other drawing too?" Rukia asks him, in an amused voice, just before his hand slides in between her legs, to stroke her feminine folds, in a way that makes her gasp quite loudly.

Ichigo doesn't answer her. She doesn't need to know…

_I'd do anything for you, Rukia._

He flips her over again, and he begins to run his tongue along her belly, and down…

She makes an unintelligible sound when his tongue catches her in that special spot that makes her feel like her brain is shaking inside of her head.

"Holy shit! Ichigo!" Rukia squeals, as his tongue tornadoes around down there, and then he stops for a second, licking his lips.

"Damn Rukia…you taste like snow…" Ichigo says in a low sensual voice, as he pushes his tongue back into her erogenous place.

She can feel the tension all the way down to her toes, as her body reacts to his torturous tongue.

She suddenly squirms away from him, causing him to look at her with a bit of surprise, since he could tell she liked it, a whole lot. She has a mischievous look on her face.

"What do you taste like?" Rukia whispers, and he begins to blush at her query.

"I wouldn't know…" Ichigo mumbles, and he finds himself hoping most guys don't know the answer to that…

"I'll tell you." Rukia says, and she forces him to lay down on the bed, and she takes a long look at his stiff erection, before she leans down and begins to run her tongue over the top of it, causing him to suck in a long aroused breath of air.

She takes the entire head into her mouth, and begins to suck a bit before she slowly begins to take more of him in her mouth.

Ichigo has never had such little control over his body before, he can hear his heart thudding like it's next to his ears.

After a few moments, Rukia gets a taste of him, but she can't tell him he tastes like a cleaning solvent, so she stops, and kisses his stomach.

"You taste spicy." Rukia informs him, and he grabs her up in his arms, before he flips her back over.

"I want to feel everything with you." Ichigo mutters, as he leans down and tongues her earlobe, back and forth.

Rukia doesn't realize what he means, until she feels him begin to push at her, down there.

"Wait…" Rukia mutters, as her eyes widen, and he stops, before he can even pass the threshold.

"Why?" He asks, and she gives him an anxious look.

Rukia puts her arms around him, and stares into his eyes.

"Because I want to tell you first…" Rukia says, and he expects her to admit she's a virgin.

"You don't have to…" Ichigo says, but she quickly cuts him off.

"Yes I do. I love you, Ichigo." Rukia whispers, and an amazed look comes over his face.

He doesn't hesitate anymore, he finds her opening, and he feels her expand to accept him, until he reaches her barrier.

"I love you." Ichigo replies, before he pushes hard enough to force his way past the barrier in one quick motion.

_Oh holy shit! How is it she can feel so damned perfect? How, Rukia?_

She knows what's happened, but she ignores the pain, and looks up into his eyes.

Her quick raspy breaths are the only indication that she felt pain.

_So this is making love…_

"If you're worried you hurt me, then stop worrying now." Rukia whispers into his ear, and he breathes a few moments before moving again.

"I never wanted to hurt you…" Ichigo mutters, as he closes his eyes, to enjoy the all consuming feeling that being with her causes him to feel.

"I know." Rukia murmurs, as his lips find hers.

Their bodies start to form beads of sweat, as Ichigo moves into motion. It's all so intense for him, it's the only word to describe it correctly. Intense, and overpowering. He doesn't want it to end, because it's heavenly.

_Her body against mine…I want to feel it again…and again…and again._

Within a couple of minutes, he's holding back, trying to prolong it all, but his body can't handle very long being two with her. It feels like electrical currents are working their way through his body. Then she lets out a long erotic moan, and he can't contain himself, a second longer.

"Rukia…" Ichigo calls out her name as a blinding flash occurs, in his head, with his eyes closed.

He spasms on top of her, as he empties his round into her.

"Wow…that was amazing." Rukia says, after getting a hold of her breath.

"You'd better not go doing that with anyone else." Ichigo grumbles at her, as he rolls off of her, and Rukia elbows him.

"Who else would I do that with?" Rukia asks him, amazed that it could come out of his mouth, afterwards. Ichigo realizes he's said the wrong thing, and he sighs.

"Uh…" Ichigo is embarrassed now, but Rukia has him pinned with a stare as though she's trying to dissect him with her eyes.

"Ichigo…were you jealous?" Rukia asks, hitting the bulls eye with one shot.

"No!" Ichigo protests, but she already realizes he's lying, and so she leans over to kiss him.

"I wouldn't do that with anybody other than you." Rukia tells him, before she grabs her dress, slips it on, and walks with her hips swaying out of his room. He watches her, every step of the way.

"I'm such an idiot." Ichigo grumbles, since he fucking said the wrong thing after.

"Yes you are!" Rukia calls out, just outside his door, before she starts walking away, and Ichigo turns red.

"It's your fault…I'm always an idiot over you." Ichigo whispers quietly enough so that he can't be overheard.

His door cracks back open, and Rukia sticks her head in, to grin at him.

"Can we act out that other picture, next time?" Rukia asks innocently, and he throws his pillow at her.

"You freaking dominatrix." Ichigo grumbles, as she laughs and shuts the door.

_Great…now I'm going to have to let her bind me up, and have her way with me._

He can't frown, no matter how hard he tries to, because that thought makes him absurdly happy.

_She can have her way with me, anytime she likes._


	67. As Inspired: Energizer Bunny

_**A/N- I seem to be doing a lot of lemons lately…I hope you all enjoy them, because it seems like I like every aspect of IchiRuki love. Here is yet another lemon, inspired by one of my loyal reviewers…his personal experience, brought on this chapter, and it is dedicated to him. **_

_**For this one shot, Ichigo and Rukia have already gotten through their confessions, and they are about to take that all important step, to give themselves to each other. Please enjoy!**_

_Energizer Bunny_

Ichigo is incredibly antsy, from all of his wondering.

_When will it be? When will I finally lose my virginity? How much longer will we have to wait before we get the opportunity to really give ourselves to each other?_

He is really stressed out, and short tempered with everyone except for Rukia. With her, he has all of the patience in the world. He doesn't realize how obvious his behavior is, to his family, particularly his father, who has finally taken pity on his pathetic, and uncreative son.

He's taking the girls out of town to the beach for the weekend. Maybe his son can finally become a man, if he's given some real alone time, with Rukia-chan.

Rukia already knows, but Ichigo has yet to learn that the two of them are about to have the house entirely to themselves. She decides to go shopping, while Ichigo is pouting up in his room. It doesn't take long for him to wonder why she isn't hanging out in his room with him, and so he goes downstairs to torture his family with his miserable presence.

"Oi, where's Rukia?" Ichigo asks, managing not to sound aggravated that he has to converse with them.

"Out." Isshin says, as he gives his son a frown.

Rukia-chan had asked Isshin to allow her to tell Ichigo about their trip, and he had chuckled as he'd agreed. So far, his son is still in the dark, and they're leaving fairly soon.

"Out where?" Ichigo asks, and Isshin smiles hugely at him.

"I didn't ask her where she was going, but I'm sure she'll be back soon." He tells his son, and Ichigo nods.

He slowly heads to the couch, and parks himself there to watch some television, until his girlfriend gets back.

Isshin starts to panic, because it takes Rukia-chan a whole hour to get back, and he's set to leave with the girls, immediately after she gives Ichigo the news, since he can't very well carry out the suitcases, with his son in sight of the door.

When Rukia does walk in, both Isshin and Ichigo look rather relieved. Rukia is amused at the similar expressions on their faces, and she tightens her hand, on her shopping bag.

Rukia walks over to Ichigo and motions for him to lean down. He complies, and she smiles before she makes the all important announcement, in a quiet whisper.

"Your father and sisters are going to the beach for a couple of days. Tonight is the night, prepare yourself." She tells him, before she swiftly walks up the stairs.

Isshin is really glad that Rukia-chan did it in front of him, because his son has the silliest expression on his face as he blushes and stares at Rukia's back until she's out of sight. Then he looks at his father, and blushes harder, since he was caught ogling Rukia.

"Don't embarrass yourself son." Isshin says, before he runs upstairs to start collecting the suitcases.

_How would I embarrass myself? _

When Isshin walks downstairs with two suitcases, he sees his son looks completely perplexed. Ichigo meets his eyes, and Isshin really wants to shake his stupid son.

"What?" Isshin asks, dreading what asinine thing might come out of Ichigo's mouth.

"How would I embarrass myself?" Ichigo asks curiously, and Isshin shakes his head.

"By finishing before you even get started." Isshin says in a low voice, before he hurries out of the house with the luggage, and Ichigo's eyes widen in horror.

_I wouldn't do something that lame, would I? Hell no I won't!_

Ichigo crosses his arms, and watches as his father hurries in to grab his own things, and his sisters both come down with beach bags on their shoulders.

The moment his family is gone, Ichigo does a mad dash for the bathroom.

_I'll make it so that it's not even possible for something like that to happen. I want Rukia to get something out of this, we're finally alone!_

He begins to work on getting himself off. He figures if he does that, several times before he and Rukia start, he'll have much more endurance in the end.

Rukia sits in Ichigo's room, wondering why he hasn't joined her yet, but after spending five minutes in the bathroom, he comes back.

"When did you find out about my family leaving?" He asks her with a raised eyebrow, getting a laugh out of Rukia.

"This morning." She admits, without sounding the least bit sorry.

"You should have told me, sooner, Rukia." He tells her, and she laughs.

"Maybe, but you know now." She points out, and he starts to get out his schoolwork.

"I guess." Ichigo mutters, as he jumps to get a head start on his work, but Rukia seems stunned.

"What are you doing?" She asks in a disbelieving voice.

"What does it look like? I'm doing some of my homework, so that I don't have to worry about it later." Ichigo says, and Rukia's mouth drops open.

"Are you kidding me? We're finally alone, and you want to do homework?" Rukia squeaks, and the way she says it, makes him feel stupid.

"Well if someone had told me earlier, I might have been more prepared." He says, and she rolls her eyes.

"You're not doing homework. For once, you're taking a break from that shit. I'll modify sensei's memory to think that she misplaced your work, but she'll have the memory of you turning it in." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo starts to shake his head no, since that would be dishonest, but she grabs him by his ear, out of his desk chair.

"Ow…Rukia!" Sputtering from pain, he's pulled away from his desk.

"If you touch your homework, I'll make you regret it!" She threatens, and he meekly nods his head.

_I suppose I can let it go, this once…_

"Fine." He mutters causing her to smile, and kiss him hard.

"Entertain me." She says bossily, and he gawks at her.

"I'm not a clown, Rukia." He crosses his arms and glares at her.

_I'm not ready to start yet, I refuse to embarrass myself!_

"I'm going to go take a bubble bath." She mutters, before she leaves the room.

He can hardly believe it. In such a short space of time, he's already hard as a rock, just because he's imagining her taking that bath.

_How many times will I have to take care of this, before I can really be ready?_

All he's thought about lately was when would finally have this opportunity with her, and now that it's here, he's worried that he won't actually please her.

_Later…_

Rukia wonders why Ichigo has been acting so weird all day. He's hardly made any advances towards her, and every time she starts to hit on him, he shies away from her.

He keeps disappearing to the bathroom, and Rukia begins to wonder if he's constipated or something.

_At least I have my secret weapon._

She goes to his closet to dig out her earlier purchase. White booty shorts, with a lacy texture, along with a matching bra.

"I refuse to keep being ignored." Rukia mutters as she gets her sexy outfit into place.

When Ichigo enters his room, he knows that stalling anymore is out of the question, but he also feels like he won't make an ass out of himself, since he's drained himself of any ability to be able to climax, anytime soon. It doesn't stop him from getting immediately hard at the sight of her, though.

Rukia smiles, as his face gets exactly the type of expression she was hoping for.

_He wants me so bad, I don't know why the hell he's trying to fight it, but it's time to give up. I've got you, Ichigo._

"How am I supposed to keep my hands off of you when you look like that?" He asks her, as he stares appreciatively, at her tiny but sexy body, up and down.

"You're not supposed to keep your hands off of me, where in the hell did you get a crazy idea like that?" She asks him, truly confused.

"I figured we'd wait until later…" Ichigo says, since the sun is still shining in the sky.

Her wink makes him suck in his breath.

"Why would I want to wait for it to be dark? I don't want to hide in the dark for our first time." Rukia tells him, and he takes a long shaky breath.

He approaches her slowly, surrendering all thoughts of waiting until later. He doesn't want to hide in the dark either, he wants to see more of her body, without the cover of darkness hiding any of her beauty from him.

They embrace, and he leans down to kiss her lips. He is finally able to slide his hands up and down her body, without any worries of being intruded upon.

_It's warm…smooth…soft…and she's all mine…_

"You're right." Ichigo whispers, before he pulls his shirt off, and leans back down to kiss her.

_Aren't I? You're going to show me exactly what it means, to make love. I'm just glad I waited for you…it was a long wait, but well worth it._

He begins to slide his hands down the curve of her rear end, and he cups her ass with his hands. She's busy reveling in how tingly her body is feeling, just from being up against his bare chest, with the warmth that emanates from him, so close.

"It feels good, to be this close to you." Ichigo mutters, before he kisses her again, and Rukia murmurs her agreement, into his mouth as his tongue slides slowly but possessively into her mouth.

_If it feels this good, just to be doing this…what in the hell will the rest be like? Wow…even his back feels incredibly strong to the touch._

He suddenly deepens the kiss, as he squeezes her butt a bit tighter, and she sighs happily into his mouth. It's like her mind is completely drawn, to all of the places their bodies are touching, and doing its best to memorize every detail.

He suddenly pulls away, and looks at her.

"Do you want to do this in your gigai?" He asks, and Rukia blushes.

"I don't want to be in soul form unless you are, too." She whispers, and he pulls his badge off of his pants, and knocks her out of her gigai, and then knocks himself out of his body.

"Where is Kon?" Ichigo asks quickly, not wanting that little pervert to go all voyeur on them.

"Yuzu-chan took him with her," Rukia says with a big grin, and Ichigo sighs in relief, as she slips out of her robes expertly. She unwinds the bindings that serve as undergarments, at a quick pace.

Ichigo slowly removes his robes, since he's too busy watching her undress. The moment she's completely naked, he barely closes his mouth in time before a bit of drool drips down his chin.

He finishes removing his own robes, and he hurries to pull her naked body up against his own. He shivers a bit.

"Rukia…" Ichigo mutters, as his heart starts to speed up.

_I can finally touch her, everywhere._

He wastes no time, in finally bringing his hands to the places that have always been covered from his view in the past.

The feel of his hands on her body, is incredibly nice, and she's glad that they have plenty of time, to draw it out. She wonders if he would feel the same way she's feeling, as she touches him, so she begins to move her fingers and hands on his body, in ways she hopes he likes.

Ichigo never imagined Rukia's touch could affect him so deeply, or make him feel like there's a buzzing in his head, urging him to take the next step, and he doesn't try to fight it. He wants to experience the next level, he's been aching to do so. He pulls her over to the bed, where they sit next to each other.

He brings his mouth to her skin, and begins to light a fire in her, with his passionate and sensual kisses. His warm lips and tongue, make goose bumps appear up and down her arms, and she is clinging to all of the feelings that he's invoking in her. She tilts her head back, and finally falls completely back on the bed with him on top of her, overtaking all of her senses.

Their hands are all over each other, and Rukia finally slides her hand down, to touch him in the place she's most curious about. His reaction is instant, when her hand reaches its destination, and she smiles, since she now knows the feelings are no different for him.

He retaliates by sliding his fingers down in between her legs, causing her to gasp and flinch from the shock of such a strong feeling, for the first time.

_So intense…how am I supposed to stand being touched like this for a prolonged period of time?_

She keeps flinching, as she feels herself reacting involuntarily to his sensuous touch. She forces herself to sit back up, and she takes more of a firm grasp on him, and she looks up at him.

"Should I use more pressure?" She whispers, and Ichigo groans.

"You can…even though that feels good already…" He mutters at her, with his cheeks turning red, at the course of their conversation.

"How much more?" She asks, nervously, and instead of talking, since it's making him feel embarrassed, he reaches his hand, around hers, and shows her by pressing her hand tighter around him, how much pressure she should use.

He begins to kiss her, to keep her from asking him more embarrassing questions at the moment. The fact that she's not a pro, is a huge turn on. He's sensitive enough down there, that it feels good whether or not she's applying the exact right amount of pressure.

It's completely different, and so much better, with her hand on his body. It's such a vast improvement over his own hand, that he's ready to do away with masturbation completely, and simply live for these kinds of moments, where he's lucky enough to have her hands all over him.

Rukia pushes him back, and crawls over him, to kiss him aggressively. He takes her by her waist, and pulls her body towards his own. When he feels their sexes brush up against each other, he can not take it anymore. He uses his strong arms, to pull her hips forward, until he can lean forward and tease her clit with his tongue.

Rukia's hands go to the bed as she shakes and shivers over top of him, and he lets out a turned on murmur, as he feels her body react to his attention.

She finally squirms away from him, since she can't keep taking that sweet torture, and she collapses on her side, next to him.

He grabs her and pulls the length of her body against his own, before he rolls on top of her, and gazes at her beautiful body, with the sun's rays kissing her skin.

He uses the head of his arousal to run around the outside area of her moist folds, causing her to sigh in pleasure.

When he slips inside of her the tiniest bit, they meet one another's eyes, and Ichigo gives her an apologetic look, before he crushes himself on top of her.

At first, it's an unfamiliar, and strange sensation for Rukia since her body is trying to adjust to his penetration, but he notices immediately, that she doesn't seem to be in any pain.

Their lips meet, and he kisses her as deeply as he can. When he pulls away, he feels like he can finally speak.

"You make me feel so damn good." He informs her, before he begins to move within her.

"I never felt this good before…" Rukia mutters, before she starts to breathe in rhythm with his movements, letting out erotic little noises in the process.

"I want to make you come…" Ichigo murmurs, before he starts to speed up his pace.

He can't stop looking at her face. Her expression is a lovely picture of desire, and he wants to remember it perfectly. Her eyes are only open a tiny bit, and the same goes for her mouth. Her face gives away the fact that she's affected by his lovemaking, and he starts to press faster…then harder.

Her moans grow louder, with his added power, and he realizes he did them both a big favor by preparing, because he is curious to see what it would feel like, to do this to her, from a different angle. He pulls her legs up, so that the backs of her calves are resting on either one of his shoulders, and he feels her tighten up on the inside, simply from this minor adjustment.

He reaches his hands, under her butt, and pulls her midsection up into the air a bit more, before he begins to push at a much faster rate of speed. Her eyes pop open at the rush of feelings that overcome her, as his body is no longer pressed against her torso. He begins to lean over her a bit more, pushing her legs more, and tightening up her muscles on the inside a bit more too.

Her moans start to get very loud, and he's thankful that they have privacy for this encounter, since it allows him to focus completely on her, and her satisfaction. She shifts her legs, as he pulls back, and she wraps them around his back, very tight, forcing him to make shorter, quicker movements, and he grinds himself into her, as he moves his hips in a bit of a circular motion.

He pulls out, and flips her on her front, before he leans over to gently kiss her skin, where her shoulders and neck meet. She shivers again, and he pulls her but up until she's on all fours. He stays on his knees, and he pushes himself against her, with all of the power his spiritual body allows him, which is much more significant than his human body. Rukia's moans turn to shrieks, and Ichigo feels his body react to her excitement. She's now assisting him, and pushing her hips back, to meet him as he slides in, and he climaxes in an instant. His hands tighten on her legs, as he does, and he lets out a long moan meant to let her know, that he's about done.

She clenches her muscles in response, making for what can only be described as a heavenly release. He stays frozen in position for a moment, before she collapses to the bed, and turns around to look at him.

They kiss, and he rolls to her side.

"Wow Ichigo, I didn't think it could feel so good, for so long. You're like the energizer bunny!" Rukia tells him, and he blushes in response.

"I'm glad I could last for our first time." He whispers, before kissing her again.

"Last? You kept going, and going, and going…" She tells him, and he pulls her a bit closer.

_I'm always going to keep on going for you, Rukia._


	68. As Requested: Kuchiki To Kurosaki

**A/N-I had a request, to follow up chapter 56, to have Ichigo and Rukia get married, so here it is! It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Kuchiki To Kurosaki_

It's the day that Ichigo is to keep the oath he made two years ago, to marry her, and Rukia is excited, as she stares at herself in the mirror. Her hair is all pulled up, and the veil is perfectly placed. The dress is made of silk, and it feels beautiful on her skin.

Her heels make her feel much taller than usual, and she likes that feeling.

"I appreciate you making me the maid of honor." Yuzu says with a smile, as she admires Rukia in her wedding dress.

"I'm glad Karin doesn't mind." Rukia tells her future sister-in-law, and Yuzu laughs.

"She's happy being in the audience. She's really grateful that you didn't press the issue of her being a bridesmaid." Yuzu says with a smile.

"I wanted a small wedding party, and I think it's perfect." Rukia says, as the other bridesmaids look up and smile at her.

Yuzu loves Rukia's other bridesmaids. She found that she got along instantly with Momo, and Kiyone. They were both nice girls, and Yuzu was happy to meet them.

"I can't believe the moment is practically here! Are you ready?" Kiyone asks in an excited voice, and Rukia takes a nervous gulp, but she nods her head.

"I've been waiting for this day, for my whole life." Rukia whispers with a blush, and the girls all start saying 'aw!'

Yuzu holds back a knowing grin, since she is one hundred percent sure that her brother feels the same way about his bride.

"Ichi-ni is waiting!" Karin busts in, and Rukia begins to feel her legs wobble a bit.

_I'm actually going to marry Ichigo! I can't believe it! _

Momo and Kiyone hurry out of the dressing room, to meet up with their assigned groomsmen. Keigo and Mizuiro both are pretty happy with the girls they've been assigned to. Mizuiro finds Kiyone and her bubbly attitude to be incredibly sexy, while Keigo thinks Momo looks like hot jailbait.

Yuzu turns to hug Rukia.

"I can't wait to be able to call you my true sister." Yuzu whispers, as she hugs Rukia, and when they pull apart, Rukia grabs Yuzu's hand and squeezes it.

"I can't wait, either." Rukia whispers, and then she gives her future sister-in-law a rueful look. "Now lets hope I don't fall flat on my face, walking down the aisle."

"You won't, your brother won't let you." Yuzu says, before she thrusts Rukia's bouquet into her hands, and then hurries out the door to meet up with Sado in time to walk down the aisle at the correct time.

Rukia leaves the room, and her brother offers her his arm. Rukia takes it and smiles up at him.

"Ni-sama…you being here, means the world to me." Rukia whispers, and Byakuya offers her a comforting smile.

"I'm always going to be here for you, whether or not you're carrying the name Kuchiki. I made a promise to my dear wife, and I will follow through." Byakuya tells her, as they step into the doorway of the hall, where they've chosen to get married.

Flowers are everywhere. Rukia thinks that the red and white roses make everything look very beautiful, but her gaze is quickly drawn to the man she intends to marry.

He's standing tall, but she can catch his piercing brown eyes from across the room. He looks completely phenomenal, and quite delicious, in his black tuxedo.

_Very doable. I'll have to convince him to dress up like this for me on a regular basis, so that I can jump his bones._

Rukia blushes at the thoughts running through her head, as she stares at Ichigo, who she is slowly, but surely making her way towards. His eyes never leave her, as she makes her way up the aisle, and she only glances away from him to smile at his father, and at their comrades in the front row. She also gives Karin a special smile, which is returned. In very different ways, she has become close to both of his sisters.

When Rukia makes her way to Ichigo's side, and she lets go of her brother, he leans in, to kiss her cheek, before giving her away to Ichigo.

Ichigo takes Rukia's hands, into his own, and stares into her eyes as the ceremony begins. She can tell he likes her, in her wedding dress, because his eyes give away his appreciation.

She eyes him up and down throughout the entire ceremony, and is caught off guard, when asked to recite her vows. Rukia gets really nervous, but she looks up at him, and smiles into his eyes.

"I swear to always love and cherish you. I will stick with you through thick and thin, through sickness and health. I'll always be there to help you, in life's pursuit of happiness, and I'll love you until I cease to exist. I also promise to kick you when you're being an idiot, since you need that sometimes." Rukia says, earning laughs and guffaws from their guests. Ichigo's eyes widen at that, but he's hardly surprised.

"Rukia, no woman means to me, what you mean to me. I swear to keep on loving you, protecting you, cherishing you, and respecting you. I will do everything in my power, to keep you happy, and I'm appreciative that you'll kick me into shape when I need it. I'll stick with you through everything, and I refuse to allow death to separate us. I will spend every moment of my life, loving you, no matter what." Ichigo says, and though some people are laughing that the couple actually spoke of Rukia kicking his butt into gear, most of the guests are starting to get teary eyed from listening to their vows.

Ichigo and Rukia can barely take their eyes off of each other, as they slip on their wedding bands, and are officially pronounced married.

"You may kiss the bride."

Ichigo turns a bit pink, as he pulls her veil away from her face, leans down to kiss her, and Rukia wraps her arms around him, to hold on tight for their first kiss as a married couple.

When they pull away, Ichigo is shocked that he hasn't heard a peep out of his father, but when he glances towards where his father is seated, he realizes that Karin is the reason for that. She has her father in a headlock, with her hand clamped firmly over his mouth.

_Thanks, Karin._

Rukia also notices Isshin's predicament, and she smiles in amusement. The cheering starts up as Ichigo sweeps Rukia up off of her feet, unexpectedly.

"Ichigo!" Rukia exclaims, before she blushes hugely, and the cheering only gets louder. He holds her close to his body, because he's carrying her out romantically, like she deserves.

"Kurosaki-san, I'm afraid we're going to have to sneak off somewhere private, before we take wedding pictures," he says into her ear, and Rukia swats at his arm.

"We have the rest of our lives for that! You had better not do anything that will ruin the wedding pictures!" Rukia squawks loudly, causing many of the guests to start laughing.

Isshin finally breaks free, and jumps up to his feet.

"See if you can conceive your wedding night, like I was able to!" Isshin roars, causing Ichigo to speed up, towards the limo. The chauffeur opens the door, and Ichigo nearly throws his bride in, to get away from his father's extremely loud and embarrassing remarks.

"Stop it!" They hear Karin yell, as the chauffeur closes the door, but Rukia rolls down the window to catch it all.

"You'll see, Rukia-chan! Going from a Kuchiki to a Kurosaki is a vast improvement!" Isshin roars, earning a swift glare from Byakuya.

Rukia falls into a hail of giggles, while Ichigo reaches over to roll up the window. Rukia smiles up at him, and gives him a big happy kiss.

"Don't tell ni-sama I said this, but I think your father is right." She breathes up at him, with her eyes sparkling like twinkling stars.

"I won't tell…but nobody is happier than me, that you're a Kurosaki." Ichigo says in a low husky voice. Rukia kisses him again.

_Except for me Ichigo._


	69. As Requested: Rukia's Drawings 4

**A/N- I had more than one request, to continue Rukia's Drawings, and to have her act out the bondage picture that she drew. Here it is, it's dedicated to the people that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Rukia's Drawings 4_

"Where did you buy this stuff at?" Ichigo asks in horror, as he sees Rukia has all of the necessary items that she'll need to play dominatrix for the hour. That's all the time they have, before his family comes back home.

"Does it matter?" Rukia asks airily as she looks at all of the items she managed to get her hands on, for this encounter.

"Why did I agree to this?" Ichigo asks, as he stares in horror at the leather mask that she got, except instead of zippers for the eyes, it has little flaps that can be closed with Velcro. The flaps can also be held to the forehead area with more Velcro, so she'll have the option to allow or not allow him to see…

"You said you'd do anything for me, and this is how you prove it." Rukia says brightly, getting a glare from Ichigo.

"Why do you need such extreme proof? Haven't I proved how much I love you already? Didn't I prove that ages ago?" He asks, feeling a bit annoyed that she'd need more proof beyond what he's given her.

"Aw, don't be like that, I want to experiment. Shouldn't I only do that with you? Or should I perhaps see if-" Rukia is not allowed to finish her question, because he slaps his hand over her mouth, and glares at her with glittering eyes.

"Don't even joke about that." He says in a low voice. Rukia begins to pout.

"You know what? I'm no longer in the mood to play with you. I'm putting this stuff away." Rukia snaps, and she begins to gather up all of the bondage toys into her arms, refusing to look in his direction.

Ichigo's eyes widen…this isn't what he expected…

"Wait!" Ichigo belts out, but then he wonders why he just told her to wait.

_Isn't it a good thing that she's putting those scary things away? I shouldn't say wait!_

"What?" Rukia asks pausing, and Ichigo gulps.

"Don't be mad, Rukia…" Ichigo mutters, since he doesn't know what else to say.

"Mad that you won't let me do this, when you get yourself beaten and bloodied in practically every battle that you participate in? I thought you would enjoy what was going to happen…" Rukia tells him, and Ichigo really isn't sure how he's supposed to get her to forgive him, and put the bondage stuff away.

"Uh…sorry for being a dick. We should start over. Please, do whatever you want to me." Ichigo hears himself saying, even as he wonders why in the hell he just gave her complete authority over him.

_Where did I go wrong, to have this end up with me asking her to do whatever she wants to me? This is going to be one hell of an hour…_

"Whatever I want? You sure you want to say that, after you've annoyed me?" Rukia asks, as she sets the toys down, and grabs the rope.

"I'm hoping you love me enough that you'll have mercy…" Ichigo mutters, not liking the comment she just posed to him.

"Take off your shirt, Ichigo." Rukia orders him in a steely voice, and without hesitation, he obeys her.

What really bothers him though, is that he obeyed her command without even really thinking it through. His arms were in motion, removing his shirt, before his mind actually processed the demand.

_I'm like her freaking puppet…_

Rukia grabs his arms, the moment he gets his shirt off, and she ties them behind his back, with a firm knot.

"Tying me up already? You're not wasting any time, are you?" Ichigo mutters, as he feels his hands are firmly tied.

"No talking, unless you want me to put you in that ball gag over there." Rukia says, pointing at the ball with a large strap attached. She smiles, since she can read his face perfectly, and his lips press into a tight line. "The only thing you are allowed to say, is thank you. You may add Rukia-sama, or mistress to the end of that, but nothing more." She elaborates, and Ichigo just nods his head, in silent acquiescence.

_I do not want that thing in my mouth! And don't think I'm going to thank you for what you just said, either…bitch._

"Good boy." Rukia says, causing him to glare. "Now for the mask." She says, as she grabs it, and pulls it over his face.

He feels a bit of disappointment, when she pulls the eye flaps down, so that he can't see. He can hear her though, and it sounds like she's undressing. It's a tantalizing sound.

"Sit down." Rukia orders him, and Ichigo slowly lowers himself to the floor, in a sitting position. He can hear her approaching.

Suddenly he feels something on his crotch, over his pants. He feels like it's her foot, by the way the pressure is being applied. He still can't help but to feel a bit excited, and his breathing starts to speed up.

"Stick your tongue out." She orders him next, and he does exactly what she says, and then she gets more detailed. "Tip your head back, while keeping your tongue out." She says, and he does like she says.

Then his tongue is assaulted, because she just stepped right up to his face, and lowered herself just a tiny bit to make his tongue rub on her clit.

_I guess there's no easing into this…_

Rukia can't help it, because he automatically starts to move his mouth and tongue around in a pleasurable way, she lets out a satisfied moan.

_I could get used to tying him up, and having him at my mercy…_

Ichigo cannot believe how much he's actually enjoying himself. It's confusing for him, really.

_I am seven kinds of fucked up to actually be as happy as I am right now. I'm tied up, she's a hellcat, and I'm already wishing we had way more than an hour…_

Rukia backs away, and puts her hands on her hips.

_He should definitely be thanking me right now. He's lucky as hell to get to eat me out…if he doesn't thank me in two seconds, I'm using the paddle next._

Ichigo wonders what will come next, since the erotic beginning, has him looking forward to it.

He's suddenly shoved down to his side, and Rukia falls on top of him. Before he can get a chance to feel happy about that development, she lays into his ass with the paddle.

Ichigo lets out a shout of pain, and she hits him harder.

"You're supposed to say thank you! Why didn't you thank me?!" Rukia demands, and Ichigo would like to rip off the ropes and strangle her, but for some reason, he doesn't. He holds back a yelp of pain, when she hits him for a third time, and then waits.

"Thank you…" Ichigo says, in a tight voice, and he realizes she was quite serious about the type of experience she wanted to have with him, and even though he's tied up, and only has to follow instructions, he is not really living up to her fantasy.

_I'm seriously demented to be blaming myself right now. She's going overboard…but I love her, and should do everything in my power to satisfy her. Holy shit, I'm so totally whipped…figuratively and literally. I can't believe I just thanked her..._

Suddenly he's glad for the mask. He's having all kinds of conflicting feelings, since he wonders why she always has to take things so extremely far, and whether or not it's a good or a bad thing that he's willing to help her take things way past the line of what should be acceptable. Particularly in such a new relationship. She pushes him so that he's a bit more on his back, unaware of how unsure he is of this whole experience.

_I know I can handle this, and if I play my cards right, I'll probably really like everything that we do…but how will I be able to look my family in the eyes, when they get home?_

He feels her fiddling with his pants, and he's suddenly back to enjoying himself. She pulls his pants, and boxers, completely off, so that he's naked.

_Fuck it, if she's happy, I'm happy, and if she has freaky fetishes, I'll just learn to love them…like I did with her drawings. _

"Look how hard you are." Rukia comments, and again, Ichigo is glad for the mask, since he can feel the heat emanating from his face.

"Thank you..." Ichigo says, with embarrassment reflecting in his voice.

He forgets about his discomfort, because her tongue is flicking along the top of his hard-on, he can't help but to let out a shaky moan at that.

_That feels so fucking good…_

She doesn't do it for long, but he doesn't want to get paddled again, so he doesn't hesitate.

"Thank you." He says in a low voice, causing her to smile victoriously.

_I shouldn't be surprised, that he learns fast._

Rukia leans over, and maneuvers her breast into his mouth, and once again, he takes action, without needing to be told what to do. She wonders if she should use any of the other toys she brought back. She hadn't showed him the dildo, but since he's tied up, and unable to see, she could easily sneak it out now.

She considers what his reaction would be if she stuck the vibrating dildo up against his ass. She figures it would probably be an unfavorable reaction, but she's so damned curious to find out for sure, that she decides to do it anyways.

_I wonder…_

Ichigo senses that she's gotten up and moved away. That makes him nervous. Somehow, he just doesn't have the best feeling about what might come next.

His senses are on high alert at the moment, but then he feels Rukia's hand, grab his arousal, and he relaxes instantly. Her hand feels very oily, which makes it feel really nice.

Suddenly he hears a buzzing noise, but he ignores it, in favor of concentrating on her hand, but that turns out to be a mistake. Suddenly something is vibrating, and it's just as oily as her hand, and it's sliding in between his ass cheeks.

_What the fuck?_

He bounces to his feet like a shot.

"What in the fuck was that?" Ichigo sounds very angry, but before he can say continue, she slams the ball in his mouth, and straps it around his head.

_She's insane…_

"Ichigo. I just wanted to see if you'd like that. Since you didn't, I'll stop." Rukia says, and he just nods his head, and relaxes when he hears the buzzing noise stop.

_Wanted to see if I'd like that…I shouldn't be surprised._

He feels himself being pushed back to the floor, and she grabs a hold of him again, with her oily hand. She does that for about a minute, until he's completely relaxed.

He's back to being happy, and then he feels her straddle him, and it's only a moment before he realizes that she's not facing him, she's facing in the same direction as him, as she lowers herself onto him, and begins to bounce up and down.

Ichigo has to breathe heavily, with the mask making it sound more pronounced, and his muffled moans make her smile. She bounces with a steady but energetic rhythm, and it lasts for about ten minutes, before he climaxes from her bouncing.

When she slides up off of him, he feels the result of their lovemaking slide down his arousal, which hasn't gone down yet.

Rukia hurries to cover herself, before she pulls off the mask, and unties the rope. Ichigo spots the dildo, and gives her a look as though he thinks she's lost her mind, before he goes to clean up in the bathroom. His legs and ass are still really oily.

Rukia grins, as she watches him leave.

"I figured he wouldn't go for the dildo thing, but I still had fun. I think it went well, but I don't want to do this all of the time." Rukia says out loud, with an amused smile. She looks at the toys.

_Though I'll definitely want to try it again, one day._

In the bathroom, Ichigo is in the shower, soaping up his body in a vigorous lather.

_I'm a freak. I actually enjoyed that experience, minus her paddling me and trying to stick a fake penis that vibrates, up my ass. It was mostly really nice and erotic though. It's all because I love that crazy bitch._


	70. As Requested: Catfight

**A/N-I had a request, to have Rukia and Inoue get into a catfight, with the clothes getting ripped and all, so this is dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Catfight_

Ichigo feels really good about the way things have been going with Rukia. It feels like they're on the threshold of coming clean about their true feelings. There have been far more smiles and knowing looks exchanged between the couple.

So things are going well, but he's failed to notice that Inoue Orihime has been getting more and more anxious about the obvious closeness between he and Rukia.

Ichigo and Rukia almost never apart, and when they are apart, he has a good idea of where she's at, since he has her reiatsu engraved in his mind, since she's the most precious person to him.

They're walking home from school, so close that their arms bump against each other once in awhile, and each time they do, Ichigo's heart pounds a little harder, in excitement.

He glances down at her, and without even realizing it, flashes her one of his most sexy smiles. Rukia smiles up at him, and their arms brush together again, as he purposely moves a tad bit closer to her.

"Rukia…" Ichigo says, and then he trails off. He's trying to figure out how to talk to her a bit more intimately, when he's suddenly tapped on the shoulder from behind.

"Kurosaki-kun." Inoue's voice gets both of their attention, and they turn to face her.

"Huh? Hey, Inoue. What's up?" Ichigo asks, and Inoue stares at him for a moment, and then she looks at Rukia.

"Are you two dating?" Inoue asks bluntly, causing the pair to start blushing.

Ichigo doesn't want to answer. To say yes, would be a lie, but to say no…isn't entirely right either, since he wants to be dating her.

"What?!" Rukia asks, sputtering from her shock of being asked such a personal question, right in front of Ichigo.

"Kurosaki-kun, I really like you!" Inoue bursts out, causing Ichigo's eyes to practically pop out of his head.

"What?!" Ichigo asks, while Rukia's jaw is practically to the ground.

"It's true. I like you." Inoue says, as she steps closer, to kiss him. Ichigo quickly takes a step backwards while shaking his head no.

"I don't-" Ichigo tries to turn her down, but Inoue interrupts him by stepping up to him yet again, and leaning forward.

"Kurosaki-kun…" Inoue murmurs, as her lips get closer and closer to his face. He tries to back away, but her hands grab his shoulders, right as he tries, and her lips only get closer to him.

Suddenly Inoue is pulled away from Ichigo, much to his relief, by Rukia.

"What on earth are you doing?!" Rukia demands, with her face red, and her eyes wide as she stares at her friend. Rukia's free hand is clenched into a fist, angrily.

"What you should have done a long time ago, if you loved Kurosaki-kun." Inoue says calmly, effectively angering the hell out of Rukia.

"What did you say!?" Rukia is seething, as Inoue puts up her shield.

"Tri-sacred shield, I repel thee." Inoue says, and Rukia is pushed away from the girl, because of her barrier.

Ishida comes running up, when he sees the shield against Rukia, and he wonders if Rukia is attacking Inoue, which makes him use his Flying Curtain Legs to arrive at the scene sooner, rather than later.

"Hey!" Rukia shouts angrily, as Inoue ignores her, in favor of turning towards Ichigo again.

"You deserve a girl that's willing to tell you exactly how she feels." The long haired girl says softly, and Rukia tries to dodge Inoue's shield, but the girl has gotten more adept at using it, since they last trained.

Rukia is effectively held off by Inoue's barrier, while in her gigai. Ishida stares on at the scene both in horror and in fascination. He's surprised at what he's seeing, but he doesn't like how Inoue is acting towards Kurosaki.

"I think I decide who's best suited for me, based on my own feelings." Ichigo says, not noticing Rukia's panic, because his own anxiety is high. Inoue approaches again.

_I can't hurt her, and I can't let her get close to me either…_

"What if you can feel something for me that you weren't aware of, before?" Inoue asks, in a strangely calm manner, causing Ichigo to raise his eyebrow and take another distressed step back.

Rukia can't take it another instant. She pops her gikongan pill, takes her spirit form, and whips out Sode No Shirayuki. Ishida's eyes widen, but he can't even move. His eyes are transfixed on the scene before him, he can do nothing else but stare.

Ichigo tries to step back again from Inoue, but her hands close around his shoulders, so her simply drags her with him. Her lips start to close in on him, and Ichigo looks completely alarmed.

"Kurosaki-kun…" Inoue murmurs, and her voice is incredibly soft, like a whisper.

"Dance, Sode No Shirayuki!" Rukia yells out, causing Ichigo to be distracted from Inoue, and to look past her, at a furious looking Rukia.

Ichigo hopes she's not mad at him. Ishida looks frightened at this point, wondering whether or not Kuchiki-san will actually try to harm Inoue-san, and if so, what will he do?

Rukia slashes through Inoue's barrier with Sode No Shirayuki, and she grabs Inoue by the shoulder, right before her lips can touch Ichigo's face. Ichigo watches as Rukia pulls the girl with such force, that she lands on her ass, on the ground.

Suddenly, Inoue loses control. She was so close to kissing Kurosaki-kun, and it would have happened, if Kuchiki-san hadn't pulled her away.

"What right did you have to interfere?" Inoue asks, with blazing eyes, causing Rukia's eyes to widen to huge proportions.

"You're the one interfering!" Rukia growls back, and Inoue takes a step closer.

"You don't own Kurosaki-kun. You're out of line." Inoue says, in a tight voice, and Rukia gawks at her.

"Like you're one to talk!" Rukia sputters after a moment of shock.

"What do you mean?" Inoue asks, and Rukia glares at her.

"Ichigo and I were in the middle of a discussion, when he was about to say something that might have been important, when you butted in. Anybody who was watching could tell he wasn't eager for your forward and aggressive attitude!" Rukia responds, and Inoue scoffs.

"So you're the only one allowed to be aggressive with Kurosaki-kun? You're not even together, so why is it okay for you, and not for me?" Inoue questions, and Rukia's eyes flash at that question.

"Ichigo and I have been connected by our hearts! There are certain things I can do, that nobody else can do, or get away with! Stealing kisses from him is never something I attempted, so I don't know how you can even compare my actions to yours, but you are nowhere near as close to Ichigo as I am!" Rukia spits out, while she stares at Inoue.

"Selfish! That's what you are, Kuchiki-san!" Inoue yells, and before she can stop herself, she reaches back and slaps Rukia, hard across the face.

Everyone is completely shocked. The normally nonviolent Inoue, just swung first, and she doesn't look the least bit contrite.

"Oi, Inoue! Don't hit Rukia!" Ichigo says it, without even thinking it.

"That does it." Rukia's voice is low…menacing…and when she lifts her face to look at Inoue, her eyes completely show her fury.

"Kuchiki-san…" Ishida fairly mutters, as Rukia reaches out and shoves Inoue to the ground again, using both arms.

"I can't believe you." Rukia says, in a low angry voice.

Ichigo can't tear his eyes away from the scene, because Inoue only half gets up, before she charges at Rukia's legs, catching her off guard, and sending her flying to the ground. The girls immediately begin to struggle, and for some reason, Ichigo finds himself rooted in place. Ishida finds himself in the same predicament.

Ichigo watches as Inoue grabs at Rukia's robe, and exposes a bit more of her skin, and the swell of her breast, something he's never seen before, and he can't do anything but stare.

_Move it to the side a little more, Inoue!_

Ichigo shakes his head. He should be rooting for Rukia, shouldn't he?

_Ah, ha, ha, King! You're a pervert deep down, aren't ya?_

Suddenly Inoue's hand jerks and more of Rukia's breast become visible, along with the skimpy bra that still shields his, and Ishida's view from her nipple and the bottom half of her breast, not that Ishida is looking, because Rukia is swatting at Inoue's face with one hand, and pushing her back with another.

Ishida can tell the material is straining, and he can also tell it's about to rip. He cannot take his eyes away from the view, as the material suddenly gives in, to Rukia's hold, and begins to rip in the front of her shoulder.

"Get off of me, Inoue!" Rukia growls, before she hits Inoue a lot harder, in her face, causing the girl to let out a cry of pain.

"That hurt!" Inoue shrieks before she reaches down to try and grab Rukia again.

"That's because you won't get off of me!" Rukia shrieks, before she pushes at Inoue again, while grabbing at her blouse.

"How do you like it?!" Inoue shouts, before slapping Rukia again, which causes the petite Shinigami to pull even harder at her blouse, completely tearing the front.

"Bitch!" Rukia shouts out, and she realizes…much more, and she'll seriously kill Inoue. "Way of Binding Number One, Paralysis!" Rukia calls out, effectively pulling Inoue off of her. Rukia scoots away, and pulls her robe back into place.

"What have you done to me?!" Inoue bursts out, from her awkward position on the ground.

Ichigo watches as Rukia rubs her cheek and glares at the other woman on the ground.

"Rukia…are you okay?" Ichigo asks, since he didn't particularly like seeing her get slapped.

"I'm fine, Ichigo. I just…didn't expect this, out of Inoue." Rukia says, not looking at him. Ichigo just nods his head deftly.

"This isn't fair!" Inoue cries out, in anguish. Kurosaki-kun doesn't even care about her own condition.

"Me either," He replies to Rukia, but her attention is back on the girl stuck in her binding spell.

"Inoue…you're out of your league." Rukia says softly, before collecting her gigai, merging with it, and then grabbing Ichigo's arm, to drag him away.

"Kuchiki-san!" Ishida calls out with worry, as he looks at Inoue with her breasts half hanging out of her bra, all open to his view because of her ripped blouse.

"The spell will wear off, in five minutes, take care of her, Ishida." Rukia calls back, while Inoue starts to cry, at her failed attempt to sway Kurosaki-kun into seeing her as the girl of his dreams.

Rukia stomps off, around the corner, and then she lets go of his arm, and begins to frown.

_I had a right to interfere, didn't I?_

"Rukia." Ichigo's voice makes her stop in her tracks. She slowly turns towards him, and then looks up to meet his eyes, before speaking really quickly.

"I'm sorry if you think I interfered, really! I just reacted, without even thinking it through, and-" Rukia is cut off.

"Rukia! Stop talking a second!" Ichigo says, as he stares down at her.

_She's always defending me, and she always comes to my rescue before something really detrimental happens._

"Sorry." Rukia mutters, and she waits for him to scold her.

"Stop. Of course you had a right to intervene. I'd do the same if some guy was throwing himself at you, because you and I share a special bond, that has always kept growing." He tells her, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"Ichigo!" She's awed, at his speech.

"I would never be mad at you for protecting me, I was grateful for your help. You're the only girl I want trying to kiss me." Ichigo tells her, in a husky voice, and Rukia wastes no time.

"If it's what you want…" Rukia murmurs, before she pulls him down by his shirt, and plants a firm, long, and possessive kiss on his lips. Ichigo can hardly believe how easy that confession truly ended up being.

_You're all I've ever really wanted, Rukia._


	71. As Requested: Rukia, Bishoujo

**A/N-I had a request made from the original BlacknwhiteIchiRuki, that they hoped I'd do another jealousy chapter, where Ichigo is jealous, and Rukia is oblivious. Since that was already resolved in the original series, I decided to post a chapter that uses that same idea, here in this set. **

**Also, Bishoujo means-A Young and Pretty Girl**

**It's dedicated to the person that asked for it, please enjoy!**

_Rukia, Bishoujo_

There is a rumor going around the school, when Rukia and Ichigo get there, that a girl from a rival school has transferred to Karakura Town. She was originally from out of the country, but she apparently beat Tatsuki in a match in the karate club, before school started.

Everyone is talking about it. Keigo and Mizuiro run up to Ichigo to tell him the news, when Rukia separates from him at the shoe cubbies. Ichigo isn't surprised, Rukia's been in a rotten mood since she woke up, and already elbowed him in the gut several times on the way to school. It's better to let her have her space right now.

"You're never going to believe it! There is a girl who can beat Arisawa!" Keigo spits out, causing Ichigo's eyes to widen in shock.

"No way…Tatsuki?!" Ichigo asks, just to be sure, and Mizuiro nods his head.

"I heard it didn't take long, either." Mizuiro says, and Ichigo just shakes his head.

"A girl that can beat Tatsuki…I wonder what she looks like." Ichigo says, and Keigo starts to jump up and down.

"I can tell you! She has a western appearance to her, and I believe she's originally American or European, but she's short, with eyes the color of the sky, skin as light as ivory, and her hair is jet black." Keigo exclaims, and Ichigo's head suddenly pictures Rukia.

"What's her name?" Ichigo asks, and Mizuiro shakes his head.

"I was told, but it wasn't a normal Japanese name. It's slipped my memory, now." He says, shaking his head.

"I remember! It's Bonnie-chan." Keigo says, even as his eyes turn starry. "And she's beautiful." Keigo reiterates, and Ichigo shakes his head, all he can picture is Ganju's boar, when he hears that name.

"If she can kick Tatsuki's ass, she can kick yours too." Ichigo reminds him, and Keigo nods his head.

"That's true." Keigo says, as he still can't believe that the strongest girl in their school got her ass handed to her.

"Here she comes!" Mizuiro hisses at them, and Ichigo turns to look.

While she does definitely look different from the other girls who attend his school, and her features in some ways are similar to Rukia's, he does not find her to be beautiful, like Keigo had pointed out. Especially not when you compare her to Rukia.

"She's got quite a body on her, doesn't she?" Keigo whispers, as he stares at Bonnie's generous sized chest.

"Whatever." Ichigo says, and he heads to put his shoes away.

"See you in class, I want to follow her for a bit!" Keigo says, and Ichigo just waves.

"I'm going to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid!" Mizuiro says, before taking off after Keigo.

Ichigo is still in a state of disbelief. No matter how he tries to picture it, he can't imagine the foreign girl, beating Tatsuki.

"I can't believe Tatsuki actually got beat." Ichigo mumbles, as he shakes his head.

Rukia is already near the classroom, but not yet inside, when it appears a large crowd is headed her way, and at the front of it, is a dark haired, blue eyed girl, on the short side, with a confident stride.

Her classroom is the one next to Rukia's, and when the girl gets to Rukia, she gives her an icy glare.

"Move out of my way." The girl says, and Rukia's mouth drops open at the girl's tone.

"Excuse me?" Rukia asks, disbelieving that someone would talk to her so disrespectfully.

"Maybe you don't know who I am. I'm the new girl, Bonnie. I said move, so you should move, before I rearrange your face." The girl says, in a low tone, and the entire crowd behind her, takes a step back and watches on.

Rukia really isn't in the mood for any shit today. She doesn't realize that she's got PMS, but she does. She's in no mood to be accommodating today, either.

"I don't care who you are, you're _rude_. And I'd like to see you try to rearrange _my_ face." Rukia challenges her, and the crowd all backs up quite a bit more, expecting to see Kuchiki get her ass handed to her, like Tatsuki did.

"Fine." Bonnie says, and she drops her bag. Rukia feels no need to do the same.

Ichigo walks up behind the big crowd, who are all looking at something, and as Ichigo pushes his way through the crowd, he suddenly catches sight of the new girl, and Rukia facing one another like a fight is brewing.

He cannot believe it, when the foreign girl actually swings on Rukia, who immediately ducks her hit, and knees her in the abdomen, sending her flying backwards, to the floor.

"Done already?" Rukia asks, with her eyes flashing, as Bonnie unceremoniously gets back up to her feet.

"That was luck." Bonnie says, before dusting off her uniform and charging towards Rukia for a second time. Rukia slides into a side step, and uses her palm to strike the girl in the side of her head.

"Was that luck, too?" Rukia asks, with a raised eyebrow, causing Bonnie to hold her face and stare up at the tiny girl.

Rukia isn't even breathing hard, as she regards the foolish human girl.

"Oh my god, Kuchiki-san beat the new girl so easily!" Someone shouts loudly, and suddenly the news starts traveling back.

All Ichigo can do is admire Rukia's calm beauty as she glares daggers at the human who thought she was the strongest girl around.

"Who are you?! I was told that the strongest girl was the one I beat this morning!" Bonnie suddenly busts out, and Rukia raises an eyebrow.

"I am Kuchiki Rukia. I don't do clubs." Rukia announces, before she heads into her classroom, and into her seat.

At first, Ichigo is completely unaware that he's not the only one looking at Rukia, with adoration in his eyes. Nearly every guy in school is suddenly noticing her, and mentally undressing her with their eyes.

He figures it will die down within a day or two, but it stays the buzz, until the foreign girl transfers out. She couldn't handle being ridiculed, for having lost to Kuchiki-san. Tatsuki has also started looking at Rukia with new respect in her eyes, while every single guy is suddenly more curious about her, and interested in telling her how cute they think she is.

It goes on, day after day.

For three weeks, Ichigo is forced to listen as other guys tell her how pretty she is, or how much they admire her. They usually stop around that point, whenever he's around, because he gives them death looks.

It's no secret that Kurosaki is tough, and no guy in school can take his threatening glares for very long. They always tear off, when they see his fists clenched like he's ready to pulverize them.

Ichigo gets held up a few minutes after class, by Keigo, and it's nearly been a month, since Rukia's confrontation with Bonnie, but her popularity hasn't dwindled at all. When Ichigo finally manages to get away from Keigo, he goes out into the hallway to see some guy, asking Rukia if he can take her out.

"Come on, Rukia." Ichigo says, grabbing her arm, and pulling her away from the guy, before she can answer.

"Ichigo! What are you doing?" Rukia squawks, as he lets go of her arm, and stops to stare at her.

"What do you mean, what am I doing?" Ichigo asks, dreading having to answer, since he already knows why she's questioning him.

"Why did you pull me away?" Rukia asks, as she looks up at him with confusion in her eyes. "You've been in a bad mood for weeks now." Rukia points out, inciting his anger.

Ichigo turns and walks away from her. Rukia follows after him, pouting.

"Kuchiki-san!" The guy she'd been talking to chased after her, and Rukia is prepared to stop, seeing as how Ichigo is acting as grumpy as a bear.

Ichigo spins around, and since Rukia's back is to him, he holds up a threatening fist at the kid.

"Sorry!" Rukia starts to walk towards the kid, but Ichigo has her arm again, and begins to drag her off with him.

"You're walking home with me." Ichigo says, in a low voice, and he doesn't let go of her arm, until they turn the corner. Rukia glares up at him.

"What is _with_ you?!" Rukia demands, but she's given no answer.

"Nothing is with me." Ichigo replies, even though he refuses to look her in the eyes.

"Nothing…my ass." Rukia mumbles, as she trails behind him.

It's been like this for weeks, with no signs of it slowing down. He drags her off, away from other people, right when she's starting to feel like she's playing the part of a normal high school girl to perfection. His attitude at school is downright miserable, and he only seems a little bit better at home. He is talking to her less, and glaring at her more.

_Is Ichigo…finally sick of me being around?_

Ichigo doesn't know how much longer he can handle seeing Rukia get so much damned attention from all of the males of his school.

_The Next Day…_

Rukia doesn't say a word to Ichigo, on the way to school. He looks so angry, and yet he was woken up the normal way by his father, and his sister made some of his favorite breakfast foods. She can't understand why he's acting so surly.

On the way to school, three times, she's nearly held up by different guys, and three times, her arm is grabbed by Ichigo, as she's dragged away.

"Hey! Will you quick dragging me off!" Rukia finally squawks at him, when it happens the third time..

"Quit stopping then." Ichigo snaps back at her, as they head for school. The moment they're inside, Ichigo stomps away from her, and to the bathroom.

Rukia walks over to the cubbies, to exchange her outdoor shoes for indoor shoes, and as she's putting on her indoor shoes, she's suddenly confronted, by the same boy who had been trying to talk to her the day before.

"You don't deserve to be treated that way." He tells her, causing Rukia to stare at him in confusion.

"Huh?" Rukia asks, and the guy smiles at her. Shirogane Keiichiro, is his name, if her memory serves her correctly.

"You deserve to be treated much, much better." He tells her, in a low voice, as he moves a bit closer, putting Rukia on high alert with big eyes.

"Eh?" Rukia asks, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with how close he is to her, and how he's looking at her.

"If you were my girlfriend, I'd cherish you every moment of the day." He tells her, as he moves in even closer. Rukia quickly ducks under his arm.

"Ah, that's nice and all, but Ichi…I mean Kurosaki-kun is not my boyfriend." Rukia replies, and suddenly she wishes she had not divulged that information, because his eyes light up happily at that news.

Rukia supposes that most girls would find him to be cute, with his long black hair in a ponytail, but he reminds her too much of her brother, which was why she'd initially felt comfortable talking to him. Now, not so much.

"Then he should be even more ashamed at how he treats you. It's unthinkable, the way he drags you around, and acts like he is your boyfriend." He tells her, and Rukia doesn't much like that comment.

"I didn't say I didn't want him to be my boyfriend." Rukia says quickly, hoping that will deter him.

Ichigo walks around the corner, right after Rukia says that, and though he heard her words, he has no idea that they're about himself. Instead, his face turns white, as he's behind Keiichiro, and Rukia's too focused on the kid to notice Ichigo behind him.

"Allow me to try to convince you that I'm a much better choice. A bishoujo like you, deserves to be treated like a princess." He says, as he leans forward. Rukia takes a quick step back.

"I'm not interested." Rukia says flatly, and Keiichiro gives her a hurt look.

"If you like to be grabbed, I can do that too." Keiichiro suddenly says, catching her off guard, since she thought she'd just hurt his feelings.

The moment his hand lands on her arm, and he starts to tug her forward, he's yanked by his shoulder, which causes him to let go of Rukia. Ichigo spins him around, and decks him in the face.

"She said she wasn't fucking interested." Ichigo snaps at him, and Rukia's mouth is wide open.

"Ichigo…" Rukia says, and he glares at her, before grabbing his shoes, and changing them as quickly as his body will allow. He gives her one last glare, before stomping off towards their classroom.

Rukia jumps over a crumpled Keiichiro and hurries after Ichigo.

"Why are you mad at me?!" Rukia snaps, and Ichigo doesn't answer her, though the vein in his forehead starts to throb, noticeably. She finds herself staring at it in fascination.

"Who do you want to be your boyfriend?" Ichigo asks, in a low voice, and Rukia looks at him in surprise.

"You heard that?" Rukia says, turning red, and Ichigo throws her an angry glare.

"Yeah. Who is it?" He asks, and Rukia looks away.

"None of your business." Rukia mutters, and she runs ahead of him, to their classroom.

Now, he can't let her out of his sight. He watches her carefully, to see if she pays any particular attention to a specific guy, but she's too hard to read. He can't figure it out.

After school, his attitude towards her is much worse than before, and finally Rukia has had enough.

"Ichigo! Do you want me gone or something? Are you completely sick of me, or what?" Rukia finally demands to know, as they walk.

Ichigo freezes in his tracks at her question, before he turns to her, with his eyes flashing angrily.

"I never said I wanted you to leave!" Ichigo growls at her, and she gapes at him.

"You have been acting like you can't stand to be near me for weeks on end!" She points out, and he scowls at her.

"You aren't the problem." Ichigo huffs at her, before he continues on his way.

"Wait…what?" Rukia says, as she trails after him, at a much slower rate.

When he's about to turn the next corner, he realizes how far ahead of her that he's walked, and so he waits impatiently for her to catch up, though she doesn't quicken her step at all to catch up to him. He taps his feet in annoyance, but when he's about to start walking again, she grabs his shirt, and he stops.

"Ichigo…" Rukia says, and her face looks like she's trying to solve some terribly difficult mathematic formula.

"What?" Ichigo fairly snaps at her, but she doesn't look affected by it.

"Is the reason you've been in such a rotten mood…because you're jealous?" Rukia asks tentatively, causing him to turn tomato red.

"That's not it!" Ichigo answers quickly. Too quickly. Rukia starts to smirk.

"It _is_, isn't it?" she probes again, and Ichigo starts to walk, since he doesn't think his voice will remain steady for a second denial.

Rukia grins wickedly, and then she runs up behind him. He tenses up, as he hears her footsteps, and half expects her to do a flying kick at the back of his head, as punishment for lying to her.

Suddenly she's right next to him, with her right arm laced through his left arm. Now it feels like the heat of a fire is coming off of his face. He can't believe she's leaning up against him, and resting the side of her face, against his arm…like they're a couple.

Rukia can't help but to smile, when he doesn't pull away from her, or voice any objections to her physical show of affection.

_You were soooo jealous, Ichigo!_

Ichigo realizes that maybe a month ago, he'd have been uncomfortable with this, but right now, he's highly relieved for it. Especially since she asked him a little while ago if he wanted her to leave. By not pushing her away, he's letting her know, he doesn't ever want her to leave.

_Maybe now, all of those horny assholes will leave her alone, and if not, I can finally tell them this bishoujo my girlfriend._


	72. As Requested: Rukia's Egg 3

**A/N-I had a request, to continue Rukia's Egg, from chapters 64 and 65. This is dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Rukia's Egg 3_

Rukia and Ichigo finally remember the promise they made to their friends, about calling them over, after the egg hatched. Now that they've spent hours, doting on little Kaito, they decide it's time to share in their joy.

Rukia keeps cuddling with Kaito, while Ichigo calls Sado, and then he takes the baby, so that she can call Inoue.

"She's more your friend than mine." Ichigo's reason makes her raise an eyebrow, but she gives up the baby, and takes the phone.

Rukia only takes a minute, and within a half hour, they expect their friends to arrive, to meet their newly hatched son.

"Can I hold him again?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo grins.

"Is it hard to hold him?" He asks her, and she shakes her head no.

"It's strange, I can feel that his reiatsu is stronger than it was in the egg, but over the past few months, I've gotten better at moving around it." She says, and he nods his head, as he hands over the baby.

"You know, I think in the end, you were pretty lucky. You had to deal with the pain of laying the egg, but you didn't have to be pregnant for months on end. I bet if women had the choice, they'd rather lay the egg." He says, and Rukia nods.

"Except that I was constantly terrified that it would get broken." She mutters, and he agrees with that.

"It was nerve wrecking, but still, I think I like that you laid an egg. It's unbelievable, just like you." He tells her, and Rukia smirks at him.

"I'm not the first Shinigami in history to do it," She reminds him.

"It's the first time I've ever heard of something so crazy happening. I don't think I'll ever forget how I felt, the first morning I woke up and found that egg." He says, shaking his head.

"Sorry. I needed to find out what was going on, I didn't know why I laid the egg either, and no way was I going to admit that to you, when you woke up." She says, and Ichigo laughs.

"Thanks to you, I had a nightmare that you came back to tell me that it was an unfertilized egg, and that you wanted Renji to fertilize it, instead of me." He admits, and her eyes widen.

"You never told me that before!" She says, in an accusing voice, and he nods his head.

"I didn't really want to tell you, before." He replies, and she just stares at him.

"Why would you have such a crazy dream?" She asks, and he rolls his eyes.

"Maybe because my crazy fiancé laid a freaking crazy egg, and then disappeared." He says, and she blushes.

"Fiancé?" Rukia asks, and he rolls his eyes.

"I did tell your brother earlier that I planned to marry you, and I didn't hear you objecting." He reminds her, and she blushes harder.

"But you haven't asked yet." She points out, and he looks away.

"You're going to make me do that, huh?" He grumbles, and she really wants to throw something at him, but she's only got Kaito, and she refuses to throw the newly hatched baby boy at him.

Ichigo realizes the way she's looking at him right now, means she'd like to throttle him, and the only thing saving him from that, is the fact that she's got the baby. He hadn't realized before, what added benefits would come, with having a baby.

_Thank you, Kaito!_

"If you think you can get away with marrying me, and not even asking me properly, then you have another thing coming, idiot!" Rukia hisses at him, quietly, so as to not upset the baby.

"Fine, I get it. I'll propose the right way, with a ring and all." He relents, and Rukia just lets out a little snort.

"Don't do me any favors." She grumbles at him, with her eyes flashing.

Ichigo realizes he may have hurt her feelings a bit. He guesses he should have been a bit more sensitive about her feelings, rather than just telling her they're engaged. She has a right to turn down his offer, even though he will do awful things to her, if she says no.

"Don't be mad at me, Rukia. I'm sorry, okay? I really do want to marry you, and the idea of you saying no to me, makes me feel like I want to destroy something." He admits, and Rukia holds Kaito close.

"Your father is as big a nutcase as your grandfather." Rukia whispers, before she head out of his bedroom, and down the stairs. Ichigo follows with a scowl on his face. There is a knock at the door, right as they reach the landing and Rukia smiles at her infant.

"What incredible timing, eh Kaito! You're going to be popular for awhile!" Rukia exclaims, as Ichigo slides around her, and goes to open the door.

Sado, Ishida, and Inoue all wear matching expressions of shock, when they see the tiny mop of orange hair on the infant nestled in Rukia's arms.

"Everyone, Ichigo and I would like to introduce our son to you. Kurosaki Kaito, hatched today!" Rukia announces, and Sado accidentally shoves Inoue out of the way, in an effort to get closer to the baby.

His love of cute things was in full force, and he didn't even notice that he almost knocked Inoue down, because Ishida reached out to steady her before she could topple over. All three move in closer, as Rukia passes Kaito to Sado.

"Wow, he's just like a normal infant." Sado says, even as he can hardly believe how blue the kid's eyes are.

"What were you expecting, a bird?" Ichigo asks, still feeling a bit salty from Rukia's unhappiness with him.

Sado shakes his head.

"I really didn't know what to expect. I never imagined you two would end up procreating in such an unusual way." He says, and Rukia frowns.

"Many creatures lay eggs. It's not all that unusual." She objects, but Sado just chuckles, as he stares at the baby.

"I assure you, no human has ever laid an egg." He tells her, and Rukia blushes.

"Well, I'm not the first Shinigami to do it." She says, even as she feels sorry for whatever Shinigami that was. Poor girl must have had it much worse than her.

"He's cute, good job." Sado says, with a firm nod.

Rukia smiles adoringly at the baby in his arms, while Ishida and Inoue both lean in to get a better look.

"He looks like a blue eyed Kurosaki-kun." Inoue whispers, even as she wishes she were the mother of his baby, and not Kuchiki-san.

"Did I feel your brother's reiatsu, earlier?" Ishida asks, as he pushes up his glasses. Rukia blushes furiously.

"Yes, you did." She whispers, and Inoue's eyes widen.

"What did he say?" She asks, a bit worried at what the answer will be.

"He wanted to know if I was planning on marrying Rukia, and I said I'd do it soon. Now I just have to ask her if she will." Ichigo says, and Inoue is green eyed.

"You're going to say yes, aren't you Kuchiki-san?" Inoue asks, and Rukia blushes, before she glares at Ichigo out of the side of her eyes.

"Depends on how he asks." Rukia says evasively, getting a huge smile out Ishida and Sado. Ichigo grumbles openly, while Inoue's mouth hangs open.

_She could actually say no to Kurosaki-kun?_

"You'd better marry me, Rukia!" Ichigo snaps, as he grabs her up in his arms, and drags her around the corner to kiss her. "Stop torturing me!" He groans, but Rukia just smiles victoriously.

"When you ask, you'd better make it good." Is all she will give, before she heads back around the corner.

Sado finally passes the baby to Inoue, who has been waiting patiently. The moment Kaito is in her arms, she feels a wave of jealousy unlike any of the others she's ever felt. It feels as though her heart is splitting into pieces. It's so easy to see that this baby is theirs.

"Congratulations. I can already tell he's going to have as much reiatsu as you do." Ishida says, as Inoue holds the baby.

Everyone is startled when there's a knock at the door, but luckily Inoue doesn't drop the baby. Rukia hurries over to answer it, and Urahara is grinning at her.

"I'm here to see the egg!" He says, and Rukia laughs.

"The egg hatched. It's a boy. Kaito." She tells him, and Kisuke looks crestfallen.

"I wanted to see it hatch!" He is practically whining, but Ichigo shakes his head.

"That was just for the family." He says, and Urahara quickly snags the infant out of Inoue's arms. He pushes the blankets away, and he pulls the little shirt that Kaito is wearing, up a bit.

"So it's true. When they hatch, they still have bellybuttons. He looks exactly like a newborn infant." Urahara says, as he stares into Kaito's big blue eyes.

Isshin enters the house, and smiles hugely.

"I got the egg shells, dipped in gold! They're drying now, and I can pick them up, tomorrow night!" He exclaims, as he grins at Urahara, holding the baby.

"Three generations of Kurosaki males in the same room. Scary." Kisuke says, causing Isshin to laugh in amusement.

"It's nice to have a baby around the house again." Isshin says, before he takes the infant from Kisuke.

Ichigo and Rukia spend close to an hour, letting their friends hold the baby. When everyone leaves, they all wish the couple well, along with a congratulations on hatching a healthy baby.

Rukia continues to spend the night doting on the baby, while Ichigo tries to come up with a proposal that she can't say no to.

_Oh, Kaito! Your father is truly an idiot. Of course I'm going to marry that fool. After all, I wouldn't have you, without him._


	73. Present: Rukia & Ichigo's Hollow

**A/N- I had a request from my friend's boyfriend, to do a one shot for his girlfriend's birthday. In addition to loving IchiRuki, she is also a _huge_ Hollow Ichigo fan, so he plays a big part in this chapter! Happy birthday, DH!**

_Rukia & Ichigo's Hollow_

Rukia and Ichigo had been fighting amidst the chaos, more than holding their own, when suddenly the release of a being far greater than anything they'd encountered up to this point, hit them. The last thing Rukia saw, before she lost consciousness, was the orange of Ichigo's hair as he went flying with her, into the ground.

The last thoughts she has, before she loses consciousness aren't very complicated.

_What in the hell was that? ...I don't know, but it hurts..._

She doesn't stay conscious long enough to witness Ichigo's reaction to the hit.

The half mask appears on his face, and he looks back down at a fallen Rukia, before he gazes up in the sky towards where the hit came from. The Captain Commander is surrounded by some extremely powerful released opponents, though he's fending them off well enough.

"_Pathetic, King_." Ichigo's hollow mutters, referring to Ichigo as he stares up into the sky.

Ichigo's hollow decides to watch for the time being, to determine which of the fuckers laid out that brutal hit to his King, and Rukia.

He stands in front of her fallen body as he watches, but the fight with the Captain Commander, suddenly moves away from where Rukia and he are positioned.

Hollow Ichigo's reiatsu is impossible to ignore though, so a couple of the Captain Commander's opponents don't follow him in the battle. Instead, they stare down at Hollow Ichigo, with the intent to fight. They're already in their released forms, as all of the Captain Commander's opponents had been. The woman is silver colored, with the appearance of a bat. She looks more like a flying rat to Ichigo's hollow though. The male, looks like a hyena, and rather disgusting. He's brown in color, with gray around his eyes, instead of whites.

Hollow Ichigo smiles at them, a smile that goes from ear to ear, as he regards them.

"Look at that, he looks like he'll be a fun one to kill." The name of this Arrancar is unknown to Ichigo and his hollow, as is the name of the female Arrancar that he's talking to.

"How cute, he's protecting a Shinigami!" The female says back, with an amused laugh.

"Dressed like a Shinigami with a hollow mask. I don't believe I've ever gotten this lucky." The male Arrancar states, before they start to come closer to the ground.

"_Getsuga Tenshou_." Hollow Ichigo says, not even bothering to comment on that last remark.

He's not about to explain that the death of the small Shinigami, could send the King straight over the edge, and that his own future could be at stake, if that happened. It's also not the first time he's fought on her behalf, though she wasn't in sight of the battle the last time.

He watches as his attack flies at the opponents, and they both are forced to dodge, before looking back at him with a bit of awe on their faces.

"What reiatsu!" The female breathes, as she stares at the bright orange hair and half mask of Hollow Ichigo.

"Don't get too attached, he won't live long." The male Arrancar says.

Then, as they're staring down at him, he disappears before their eyes, causing them to show their shock, particularly when he reappears right behind them.

"_Me, die? __**Ha**__! Getsuga Tenshou_." Ichigo's hollow sends out a blast, and though he does catch both of his opponents this time, they are not mortally wounded.

"Fucker! How do you like this?!" The male begins to formulate a powerful cero in his hand, but Ichigo's hollow slices off his arm, before he can make good use of his cero.

"Damien!" The woman Arrancar yells, when she sees the blood spray out.

"How..." The injured Arrancar gasps out, and the woman looks at Ichigo's hollow with complete fury.

"You fucking bastard!" She growls, as she ignores the pain from her earlier contact with his shikai attack.

"_You're next, bitch_." Ichigo's hollow says it with amusement, and the corner of his lips, are practically touching his ears.

"I'm not dead yet, you fucking piece of-" Damien forces out, but Ichigo's hollow doesn't even have to look at him, in order to send a deadly wave of Getsuga Tenshou his way. The female Arrancar screams, as her companion dies.

Ichigo's hollow turns his zanpakutou, menacingly on the woman next.

"Don't worry bitch, you're about to join him." Hollow Ichigo says, with a wonderfully evil laugh.

She holds up her zanpakutou, in a threatening manner, and sends a huge fire attack at him, which he blocks, simply by holding up his hand.

"No way..." She breathes, in disbelief. She begins to shake from fear, as she looks him in the eyes.

"_Say good night, little whore_." Hollow Ichigo says before he stabs her in forehead with Zangetsu.

As he pushes his blade further in, he cuts more and more of her face. When it's completely cut in half, he lands rather gracefully on the ground, and glances at Rukia. He doesn't take his eyes off of her, even as he makes himself comfortable on a rock, just watching her. He ends up waiting for about ten minutes, before she finally starts to stir.

As Rukia comes to, she realizes she's in the presence of a fierce reiatsu, and it feels so much like Ichigo, that she snaps her eyes open to look. Then she sees the half mask covering his face, and she knows immediately, that Ichigo is not the one in control.

She stays quiet, as she looks at him, and she sits up slowly, careful not to make any quick or alarming movements. She slowly brings her hand up, to rub her head, where a knot has formed, from when she got knocked to the ground.

Ichigo's hollow just keeps smiling at her as he watches her. He can tell she's uncertain about him, yet she's acting so subdued.

"How long have I been out?" Rukia asks, trying to keep her voice, as steady as possible. There is no telling what he might do.

"_Long enough_." He says evasively, causing her to frown, and then look a bit surprised.

"You've been here the whole time?" Rukia asks, wondering why that makes her feel better.

"_Since I finished killing the Arrancar that hung back_." He explains, as he studies her face very carefully.

Rukia feels very antsy, under his close scrutiny, and she wonders what is going on in his head. It's difficult to stare back, when he's watching her, and so she concentrates on her feet, instead of his face.

"What are your plans now?" Rukia asks carefully, and Ichigo's hollow laughs at her.

"_That all depends on you, Rukia-chan. Aren't you going to try to kill me? After all, you're a Shinigami, and I'm a hollow_." He tells her, and Rukia grimaces at his words.

"I had no intention of starting anything with you." Rukia says, as levelly as she can. She does not want to show such blatant fear.

"_Aren't you afraid of me…Rukia-chan?_" He asks her, with an odd tone of voice, which she does her best not to focus on.

Rukia knows that she should choose her words carefully, since it is not Ichigo's mentality that she is dealing with here, nor does she want him to believe he has full reign to do whatever he pleases with her.

"Not right now I'm not. Does that bother you?" She asks him, and he just stares at her with his smile changing ever so slightly, so that his lip is curling a little bit, and then he uses his flashy shunpo, to land directly behind her. Rukia flinches with a start, at that action, and her eyes widen, with what he says next.

"_On the contrary, Rukia-chan. I am thrilled that you aren't afraid of me. This is our first chance, to spend time together, alone. I think we should take advantage, don't you?_" He asks, and Rukia feels herself being lifted into his arms.

He flashes to another large rock with a flatter top, where he sits down, and leans back on his left arm, while holding her still in his lap with his other arm.

"I'm surprised. I never imagined that you might want to be alone with me." Rukia says, more in shock than anything else.

To be crushed up against Ichigo's muscular and warm body, while he's not in charge of it, makes her feel as though she's somehow wrong, yet she doesn't dare try to get away. She stays completely still, waiting to see what he intends to do or say next.

"_Oh? It's only natural that I'd want to meet you. His inability to let go of you, was the most necessary ingredient to my birth and level of power_." Hollow Ichigo says, not even realizing how much he's confounded her with such a revelation.

_I'm learning just how much he loves me, and how long he's loved me, from his hollow! Why couldn't it have been Ichigo who told me this?_

"Don't say that…" Rukia says softly, causing him to pay more attention to her. He can see her eyes are shut tight, and she appears to be fighting tears.

"_You think I'm so disgusting, don't you? You hate that his love for you, gave birth to something like me, isn't that it, Rukia-chan?_" His voice is menacing, and his hold around her tightens.

"You're wrong, I don't think you're disgusting. It's me." Rukia says, and he raises an eyebrow at her suspiciously.

"_You_?" He asks, and Rukia's eyes snap open. She turns her head, to meet his cool yellow eyes, with her own innocent blues.

"I wonder if men I fall in love with are cursed." Rukia mumbles at him, and he seems far more interested in what she has to say now.

"_Cursed you say? If King is one of the men you love, then don't you think you should make me aware of this curse? Tell me_." It's not a request, but a demand…or maybe an order.

"Cursed to be consumed by darkness." Rukia says softly, causing Ichigo's hollow to ponder for a moment.

He's trying to discern whether or not she insulted him. He's still rather wary with her. His philosophy with her, is to keep her close, so damn close that she can't move a muscle, without him sensing whether or not there is killing intent wrapped up in her movement.

After a long moment, he decides being consumed in darkness is most definitely a good thing, and not something he should feel insulted by.

"_I don't get it. Have you ever even tried being consumed in darkness? The feeling of such a thing is more intoxicating and intense than you're giving it credit for, Rukia-chan._" He says, and Rukia stiffens in his arms immediately.

"I don't want to be consumed in darkness, definitely not." Rukia says, in a tight voice, and Ichigo's hollow is quite amused with her. He smiles from ear to ear.

It's not like he would even attempt such a ridiculous thing, but it might be fun to make her think so.

"_But I want to eat you, Rukia-chan, and you're in my arms, with no hope of escaping. You smell so tasty._" He tells her before he sits up, and leans over her a bit, to seem more imposing.

"Please don't." Rukia says, in a rather strong voice, and he smiles a bit harder.

"_I could be convinced to change my mind…Rukia-chan. If you're real sweet to me, maybe I won't consume you in darkness…_"

Rukia stares up at him, as though he just shot her with a torpedo, right in the gut.

_Sweet to him? He wants me to be sweet to him? How in the hell am I supposed to be sweet to a fucking hollow?! I'm a Shinigami for crying out loud! I don't sweet talk hollows!_

"What do you mean?" Rukia asks, stuttering a bit, in nervousness, since he had used such a broad word. There are so many different ways, to be sweet.

"_The King, holds on tight, to some memories of you being incredibly sweet to him. These are so important, that each moment has its own damned building in his inner world! And let me tell you, Rukia-chan, his inner world was fucked up to begin with, but your influence is in over half of the buildings. It's nothing but buildings, sky, and sideways clouds._" He tells her, with a smirk.

"Buildings…" Rukia repeats, once again feeling bad that she's learning something about Ichigo that she didn't know before.

"_I know so much about you, Rukia-chan. I know you have an overwhelming bunny fetish. I'm not going to get into what I think that means about you, psychologically. I watched your back while you were passed out, and now you will be sweet to me. Begin!_" He says, causing Rukia to feel highly uncomfortable.

_You can't just order me to be sweet…_

She has these thought, but instead, she reaches out, to touch the cheek that isn't covered in a mask, and she stares up at him, with a solemn expression.

"Thanks for watching my back." Rukia says openly, and he stares hard at her, while she's being sweet.

He lifts his hand up, to cover hers with his own. This whole deal where she just touched him, has him quite intrigued.

"_Aren't you going to kiss me_?" He asks, which makes her eyes pop out for an instant.

"You'd be okay with that?" She asks, and he smiles hugely at her.

"_To beat the King at this? I'm more than okay with it. Throw in a long hug while you're at it_." He orders her, and Rukia wonders if maybe she isn't in way over her head, with his hollow. She really hopes she can handle this, without setting him off, in anger.

Rukia decides she will not kiss his lips. Instead she pulls his hand towards her lips, and gently kisses the top of his hand.

Ichigo's hollow can't stop smirking, because there's no way he's going to let her measly attempt at appeasing him, fly. He decides to wait for the right moment to let her know it though because she's opening her arms up to hug him.

The moment her arms close around him, he yanks her down on top of him, and then flips her over, on the narrow space that the boulder they're on, provides them. He moves so quickly, she doesn't even have an opportunity to respond. She's more shocked than scared…at first.

"What?!" Rukia gasps in shock.

_What is the meaning of this!?_

"_He dreams of doing this with you, Rukia-chan. Every night he dreams of you underneath him. Didn't you ever notice, how he'd wake up, and come stand next to the closet, wishing he had the courage to open it, and yank you out of there? He wanted you in his bed, not his closet!" _Ichigo's hollow informs her, before he leans down, and steals a kiss from her.

Rukia can't stop feeling like she's intruded into all of Ichigo's most private thoughts. He's never spoken to her about any of this, and yet she knows it anyways.

That's all that runs through her head, as his hollow presses his lips against hers.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asks, when he finally pulls away.

"_Because unlike him, I don't have the ability to want you from afar. I want you, Rukia-chan_." He tells her gruffly, and he leans down to kiss her again.

He does his best, to seduce her into changing her mind, but when his hand starts to grab at her robes, she starts to freak out.

"You have to stop!" She says in a sharp voice. "Let Ichigo come back, please!" Rukia says, and his hollow smiles at her.

"_Even if it means you can't be close to his body anymore? Won't it hurt your feelings if he jumps away from you when he comes back_?" He asks her, and Rukia shakes her head at him.

"I'd be happy if he just came back." Rukia says, and Ichigo's hollow smiles at her.

"We'll compromise, Rukia-chan. I want to get a look at you without that robe, and then I'll let him come back." He tells her, before he rips her robe apart, along with her hands.

In an instant, the top half of her robe is completely off, and he leans over her, with her robe clutched in his hand.

Rukia stares up into his eyes, in fear, and he leans down closer to her, before he allows the mask to shatter, so that the pieces land on her bare chest.

Ichigo collapses before he grasps the situation, and Rukia blushes fiercely before grabbing at his left hand, which is grasping her robe.

"Rukia…you're okay!" Ichigo says, and he lifts his head, finally realizing that she just yanked her robe out of his hand, and is now frantically covering herself. As she does, a few pieces of his mask hit the ground, and disappear.

"I…uh." Rukia mumbles, even as Ichigo realizes that something happened to her, involving his hollow.

He's too horrified and ashamed, to respond right away. He stares at her face, for any signs of abuse, so he's relieved to see that she appears unhurt and healthy.

"Are you okay, Rukia?" He asks in a shaky voice, and she looks up at him with tears starting to fall.

"Your hollow told me all about how you love me!" Rukia bursts out, since she cannot even consider keeping that a secret from him. He of course blushes furiously.

"He did?" Ichigo says in a bare whisper. Rukia nods.

"That's not all. He told me other things about you that I didn't know." She says, and Ichigo nods his head.

"Do you hate me?" He asks quietly, and Rukia stares at him in shock.

"I could never hate you, Ichigo." Rukia replies, before pulls him in for a hug. He can hear the unspoken words, so clearly.

_Because I love you!_

He's confounded. She accepts him no matter what.

_Now I love you even more._


	74. As Requested: All In A Days Work

**A/N-I had a request to do a series of lemons, for Ichigo and Rukia, consisting of them all being in the same day. While I won't do the series back to back, I have decided to go ahead and follow through on this series request. In this instance, Ichigo and Rukia have already given their virginity to one another, but they've only had sex that one time. **

**This is dedicated to the man who suggested the series! Please enjoy! **

_All In A Days Work_

Ichigo had packed overnight bags for he and Rukia, and took her to Sado's house for the day. Since his friend had to leave town for a battle of the bands, he had decided to let Ichigo and Rukia stay there while he's gone.

Sado already knows that things will get freaky in his apartment, while he's away, but he trusts Ichigo to clean up whatever messes he and Rukia make while they're there.

When Ichigo had informed Rukia of his plans, she'd gotten more excited than he'd expected her to. Her face lit up so happily, and she gave him a look that let him know she was anticipating it as much as he was.

Ichigo was shocked to realize that the desire he felt was completely mutual. He had worried she wouldn't be up for it, considering how much he'd hurt her the first time.

It made him feel sexy…and that was a really new feeling for him.

_She wants me…I want her…I couldn't be happier._

It was empowering, and it made him feel really good to know that he wasn't the only one affected by the closeness they'd shared the first time, before he'd hurt her. He still feels guilty about that, and wants to make it up to her by being really romantic, during their day together.

He has no idea that she has different plans in mind.

He brought a sleeping bag with him, for their bedding, and when they get there, Ichigo folds up Sado's bedding, and leaves it tucked in the corner. No sooner does he get that done, when Rukia leaps onto his back, and laughs like a maniac.

"I'm going to have my way with you!" She informs him, and he can't stop blushing.

"Let me spread the bedding out first-" Ichigo starts to say, but he's cut off.

"Do that after!" Rukia orders him, as she drops to the ground, and reaches around him to unzip his zipper.

"Oi! Rukia!" Ichigo definitely can't get the blush off his face as she yanks down his boxers and pants.

"I know it's not supposed to hurt this time, and I'm anxious to see how it feels! Take off your shirt." Rukia tells him, as she pulls her dress off in one smooth motion.

"Bossy little…" He's cut off because she hits him in the back of the head.

"Don't make me change my mind," Rukia says, causing Ichigo to get a bit worried.

"I didn't mean anything by it…" Ichigo says, and Rukia smirks at him.

"That's what I thought." She says in a satisfied tone, as she admires his tight ass.

Ichigo turns around, to see her in her bra and panties, and all thoughts of protest go out the window.

_Who cares about bedding anyways? Am I a complete idiot?_

He whips off his shirt, as she unsnaps her bra, and then he sinks to his knees to relieve her of her panties. He can't help but to think she has a tight little body, as he eyes her narrow strip of hair, and then works his eyes slowly upward.

Rukia feels her body shiver, as his eyes slowly raise, and finally meet her own.

"I'm a total idiot…why was I arguing with you?" He asks her, with wide eyes, and Rukia smiles.

"I have no idea." She tells him, and he leans down to kiss her. It's the same as it was the first time…

Even though he's fully focused on her, in the back of his mind, he thinks about all of the moments they've shared together in the past, that led them to this point. Particularly the moment where she stabbed her zanpakutou through his heart. Back then, he'd have never imagined that she'd one day be jumping on him, demanding he make love to her again.

"You're so damn soft," he whispers, as he lets his hands run over her bodies. Her body has the same effect as aloe on his hands. It's wondrous, just to touch her.

"And you're hard." She replies, and he chuckles a bit at that.

"I can't help it, you're too beautiful for your own good." He responds, before he busies his lips on her skin.

Rukia closes her eyes, and feels her knees getting weak, as his lips work their way across her neck and chest.

She puts her hands on his arms, to hold herself up properly, and then moves them to his shoulders when he leans forward to flick her nipples with his tongue.

For some reason, him being on his knees really turns her on, and she leans over to kiss the top of his head.

"Mm…Ichigo…" Rukia mumbles, as his tongue traces around her belly.

"My sexy Shinigami…" Ichigo mutters against her skin, as he reaches around and begins to squeeze her cute little butt.

Rukia smiles, but she doesn't say out loud what she's thinking, since she's sure he'd laugh at her.

_My sweet hearted human…the only man capable of melting the ice that used to guard my heart._

Ichigo pulls her body closer to himself, and hugs her tight. He can hear her heart pounding quickly in her chest, and so he starts to kiss down her belly again.

"Ichigo…" Rukia moans, as his tongue slowly but barely starts to tease her in her most sensitive place.

Rukia sucks in a breath as she feels his tongue slide around, and she's certain that he's purposely driving her insane, but she can't gather up the gumption to do anything about it, since it's the sweetest torture she's ever endured.

To have his tongue work his way quite purposely all around her most sensitive area, and then have him just gently slide right over her clit is enough to make her eyes roll up into the back of her head.

He is quite aware that he's messing with her, but as he keeps it up, he realizes it's having far more of an effect than he had even thought it might. He slides his hands around the insides of her legs, and he can feel the moisture making its way there, due to his relentless teasing.

He finally dives full in, and begins to move his tongue as wildly as he can. It turns him on, to no end, when he feels her reaction against his mouth. He just feels himself go a little wild, and he just hopes Rukia doesn't complain later, that he went too far.

Right now all she can do is make some sexy ass sounds at his slow seduction...sexy sounds that are driving him nuts.

He grabs her by her legs, and pulls her against him, so that she's straddling him, and then he languidly kisses her nipples some more while she shivers, while breathing hard.

"I really want you." Rukia informs him, and Ichigo just loves the way that sounds to his ears.

"Go ahead and take it then." He tells her in a low voice that makes her heart skip a beat.

Rukia immediately works to make him hers. She licks at his earlobes as she positions herself over him, and slowly lowers on top of him. It's a strange but amazing sensation, now that she doesn't feel pain. It's still a new and weirdly nice feeling.

Ichigo squeezes his eyes shut, and concentrates on making himself last, as she slowly lowers herself over him completely. Rukia looks at his face, and she can't help but to feel so good at the fact that he's completely at her mercy.

She likes seeing him be all submissive, as she helps herself to him. She isn't exactly sure why she likes it so much, but she does.

As for Ichigo, he loves it too. He spends a lot of his time saving people, protecting people, and being the rock that others rely on to be strong. Being under her control is actually something he secretly enjoys and loves a great deal.

He knows there is something psychological, and perhaps it's not healthy, but he has no desire to change. Her being in charge feels too damned good.

She increases her tempo, and she starts to get lost in the pleasure of making love to him. She particularly loves staring at his face, as he experiences the same pleasure that she is. This time, it's completely mutual, and she is falling in love, with making love.

Suddenly he grabs at her, and starts to convulse, while she watches him with a smile.

He flops to his back, on the ground, and sighs.

"Damn…and we just got here…" Ichigo says, since he can't believe they didn't need a whole day, or even a half a day.

"We're just getting started, Ichigo. I'm glad we have more time, because there's no way I'm done with you yet." She slips off of him as she says that, and heads for the bathroom.

Ichigo stares after her retreating figure with a smile on his face.

"Bitch. You'd better never be done with me." He mutters, with a smile on his face, but even after he says it, his mind corrects his words.

_I can always count on Rukia. She'll never leave me._


	75. As Requested: Immortal Isshin 7

**A/N-I had a request to continue Immortal Isshin, and so here it is! It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Immortal Isshin 7_

Isshin looks at Takeshi, and he can tell that something is in the wind. The boy obviously has a crush on someone, but Isshin has no clue who it is. Ichigo is oblivious to his son's growing feelings for a certain lady in Soul Society, because his wife his so huge, she's ready to pop at any moment.

Kukiko and Takara have been spending all of their free time, with their mother. She's always got one of her family members around her, since she's due to give birth any day now.

Kaori and Nariaki have been spending the majority of their time at home too, and Rukia has felt so loved, that all of her family is so concerned about her welfare.

"You know mom, I still don't know how you managed to give birth to the five of us! You're really amazing." Kukiko says, as she stares at her mother's pregnant belly.

"I'm just so happy we're having a normal family dinner. I am glad we took on the same rule you had in the living world." Rukia says to Isshin, and he smiles hugely.

"Though you can only really appreciate it, when you're a parent. The kids never understand until far too late." Isshin says, and Ichigo rolls his eyes.

"Ichigo, I want lasagna. From the living world." Rukia says suddenly, and Ichigo's eyes pop out of his head.

"But we just ate!" He says, even as he realizes Rukia's plate is barely touched.

"This isn't sitting well with me. Go get me lasagna!" Rukia says in more of a stern voice, and Ichigo's head droops.

"How about I go?" Takeshi says, and Ichigo looks hopeful, and then elated as Rukia nods.

"Thank you Takeshi." Rukia says, as she gives her son a grateful look.

Takeshi doesn't mind. With this job, he has plenty of time to daydream about the girl he's fallen for.

_Later…_

"Takeshi!" Kenpachi's voice rings out, and he stops for his grandfather's brother

"Yes?" Takeshi asks, even though he's in a hurry to get back home.

"Have you seen Yachiru? We were going to stop by tonight, together, but she disappeared on me." He says, and Takeshi looks away quickly.

"No, sorry. I just got back from the living world. I had to get mom some lasagna." Takeshi explains a bit nervously.

"If you see her, tell her I'm looking for her." Kenpachi says, and Takeshi nods his head obediently, before using his shunpo to disappear.

When he gets back home, his aunts are over, and his Aunt Karin is with her "friend" Captain Hitsugaya. Right as he hands his mother the lasagna, Yachiru pops up behind him.

"Take-chan!" She says with a smile.

He slowly turns. She no longer has the appearance of a child, but rather a young woman. A very _short _young woman. She's the same height as his mother. Her pink hair is very long, and as usual she shocked the hell out of him with her appearance.

"Captain Zaraki was looking for you." Takeshi tells her immediately, and she giggles.

"Ken-chan's senses are just terrible. He'll find me here soon enough." She says, and Takeshi nods his head slowly, even as he gives her a very doubtful look.

_Her sensing abilities aren't much better…_

"Did you get something to eat?" He asks instead of saying what he's thinking.

"I was waiting for you, Take-chan!" she says, and he smiles.

"I already ate…" He says, but then he sees her crestfallen expression. "…but I could eat again." He finishes, and she smiles hugely.

Isshin finally puts two and two together.

_Takeshi is in love with Yachiru! Does she feel the same about him?_

"Good I won't be eating alone!" Rukia says with a smile, and Takeshi nods.

_Even though I'm not really hungry, I'll force myself to eat, just to be able to eat with her._

"The food looks so yummy!" Yachiru says happily, and Takeshi shakes his head. Her appetite is enormous, yet she never gets fat.

Her childish personality appeals to him for some reason, though he can't figure out why. She's much older than him, but he still finds himself attracted only to her.

"Oh thank you, Takeshi!" Rukia says happily as she smells her lasagna. "This was exactly what I needed!" Rukia says excitedly before she digs in, and smiles. "Mmmm." Rukia moans, and Ichigo starts to look at his wife.

Her moan sounded too similar to the ones she makes when he licks her, and now his mind is in the gutter. He wonders if she'll let him do her standing up, and bent over…

Meanwhile, Isshin can't stop watching Takeshi and Yachiru interact with one another. The more he watches, the more he thinks their union could be possible. He also thinks that his grandson would treat Yachiru well, which is another reason for it. The pink haired girl has certainly grown on him over the years.

_I wonder what Kenpachi would think about this. Would he have a problem with it?_

"So tasty!" Yachiru says, as she takes another bite.

"Slow down…we're not going to run out." Takeshi says with wide eyes, as she begins to shovel her food down the way she's done for years.

"Oi Take-chan! We should go and get ice cream for everyone!" Yachiru says, the moment she finishes the last bite on her plate.

"Okay." He says it so quickly that even his mother gives him a swift look. Isshin starts to smile, since it appears he isn't the only one who's figured it out.

"We're going to walk around the manor." Karin says, motioning towards herself and Toushirou, causing everyone to start giving them knowing looks, which they notice everyone giving them.

"Come on." Toushirou says, throwing the nosy family one last glare.

"Actually, I think he needs to be going on a walk with me." Isshin says, as he stands, and gives Toushirou a _look_.

Toushirou swallows nervously. There aren't a whole lot of things that scare him, but the Spirit King is one man who is fully capable of doing so.

"Dad!" Karin growls, and Isshin ignores her.

"You two can go on a walk in a little while. Just sit tight for a few minutes." Isshin says to Karin, who agrees, reluctantly.

Takeshi and Yachiru take this opportunity to slip out of the manor, and they head towards Rukongai to go buy some ice cream.

"You remind me of Icchy, back when he was a human teenager, except you're cuter." Yachiru tells him, and Takeshi blushes.

"What are you talking about? Even I know I'm a shorter replica of him. My mom tells me so all the time." Takeshi says quietly, and Yachiru smiles at him with a long look at him.

"Maybe that's why we get along so well. I always got along great with Icchy!" Yachiru exclaims, and Takeshi smiles.

"I just enjoy being around you." Takeshi admits in a near whisper, and Yachiru brushes her hand against his.

"I enjoy being with you too!" She says, in her usual excited manner. Takeshi blushes.

_It's a start. _

Back at the house, Isshin walks quietly with Toushirou for about one minute, before he loses his patience.

"Don't you think it's time you asked for her hand?" Isshin demands, and Toushirou nearly jumps out of his skin.

"Would you allow it?" Toushirou asks hesitantly, and Isshin laughs.

"That depends on whether or not you have the courage to ask for her hand." Isshin says in a hard voice, and Toushirou wonders if Karin's father would murder him.

"Will you please give me your blessing, to marry Kurosaki Karin?" Toushirou asks, wanting to specifically say which daughter he was interested in.

"It took you long enough to ask, make sure you marry her before you take things any further." Isshin says, and Toushirou blushes.

_Apparently her father sensed that things were changing between us._

Isshin smiles. It's good that Karin has a prospective husband. Even though half the men in Soul Society have a crush on the most soft spoken of his three children, Yuzu has not yet formed any attachment that could be considered a prospective love match for her future.

Isshin and Toushirou turn around to head back to the family.

_Later…_

Takeshi's arms are filled with tubs of ice cream since Yachiru is capable of finishing ten tubs by herself, no problem. Yachiru walks energetically next to him.

"We've known each other a long time…" Takeshi says, and Yachiru smiles.

"Yeah, I've known you since the day you were born, and I may have even felt you kick my hand before you were born." Yachiru tells him, making him blush at the reminder that she's much older than him.

"Still…you're the only girl outside of my family that I enjoy being around." Takeshi admits in a quiet voice, and Yachiru smiles before she whacks him on the ass.

He drops all of the ice cream.

"You're the only man I like being alone with, besides Ken-chan." She admits back, and they both begin to pick up the spilled tubs of ice cream.

"Really?" Takeshi asks, with his heart pounding.

Yachiru leans forward, to grab another tub of ice cream, and Takeshi can't help himself. He leans forward to kiss her. When he feels Yachiru begin to respond, it's the same moment that Kenpachi finds his lieutenant.

"What's going on here?!" Kenpachi roars.

Takeshi pulls away from Yachiru, and stares at Kenpachi in horror for only a moment before he takes off as quickly as his shunpo will allow him to, leaving several tubs of ice cream on the ground.

Yachiru smiles and waves at Kenpachi.

"Ken-chan! He finally kissed me!" Yachiru squeals, and Kenpachi scoffs.

"I saw."

"I think Take-chan is as in love with me, as I am with him!" Yachiru squeals happily, and Kenpachi shakes his head.

"Too bad he's like his father, and ran away from me." Kenpachi grumbles, even as Yachiru laughs.

_Later…_

Rukia and Ichigo both notice how nervous their son looks, since he appears to be constantly distracted.

"Are you trying to sense Yachiru?" Rukia finally asks her son, and he turns bright red.

"No!" He protests, and Rukia smiles at him, before she shakes her head.

"I know, you know. You give her the same kinds of looks that your father has been giving me for years. You're in love with her." She says, and Ichigo jumps to his feet, even as Isshin chuckles.

"What?!" Ichigo asks, wondering how he didn't notice, that the son he's closest to, has fallen in love.

"Shut up!" Takeshi yells, before he runs off. Rukia smirks as she looks at her husband.

"He's just like you." She says, and he picks her up out of her chair.

"You need some rest." He tells her, ignoring his father's knowing laugh.

As he carries his wife towards their bedroom, he starts to describe to her in great detail, what he plans on doing with her, once he gets her there. Rukia's eyes widen at his explicit language right up against her ear, and she finds out that her husband didn't lie to her. He does indeed get freaky with her, right after they get into the bedroom.

Unfortunately, he only gets partway through all of what he told her he was going to do, but then it seems that his actions have induced her going into labor.

_Fourteen Hours Later…_

"Twins!" Rukia says, even though she's exhausted. Ichigo hold out their newest daughter.

"She has your hair." He says with a smile. "The first girl to have your hair." He says with a smile.

"And he has it too." Rukia says, eyeing the dark haired baby in Masaki's arms.

"Did you decide on a name for her?" Ichigo asks, since their agreement had been she'd name a girl if they had one, and he'd name the boy if they had one.

"Yes. Keiko." Rukia says, and Ichigo smiles. "What about you? Have you chosen a name?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo smiles as he nods at her.

"Yes this will be Taiki." Ichigo says, as Rukia's body is covered up, and their family starts coming in, to greet the newest members of the Kurosaki clan.

Takeshi stays far away from his grandfather's brother, while watching Yachiru hold his baby sister. He thinks she looks cute with a baby in her arms, and he begins to turn red.

None of this is missed by his parents, who smile knowingly.

Rukia looks up at Ichigo, and he leans down to hug her.

"You did a terrific job." Ichigo whispers in her ear, and Rukia nods with a tired look in her eyes.

"I'm so happy Ichigo…so happy and tired that I think I could cry." Rukia says in a soft voice, and he kisses her on her forehead.

"Go on and rest then." Ichigo whispers, and then he smiles. He suddenly remembers how when he first met her, she told him she came from Soul Society, or what was called heaven in the human language.

_I don't think it's wrong to think of Soul Society as heaven._

**A/N-Keiko means celebrate and child. **

**Taiki means great radiance/shine.**


	76. As Requested: Baby Shoes 2

**A/N- I had a request to continue Baby Shoes, and so here it is, and it's also combined with another request I had, so it's dedicated to the people that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Baby Shoes 2_

Ichigo has been nervous about Byakuya showing back up, particularly since his father had done nothing but torture the man, the last time he was there. Rukia tends to giggle about it from time to time, and it drives Ichigo crazy.

Isshin has been planning a secret wedding for the next weekend, so that they can be married before Rukia starts to show too much. He's been in more of a good mood than usual, ever since the day Byakuya came to visit, a couple of weeks ago.

He took Masaki's old wedding gown, and a current dress of Rukia's to the town's best seamstress, and arranged to have Masaki's wedding dress altered, so that Rukia could wear it.

Ichigo has been taking care of Rukia, since she's had a touch of morning sickness. He still can hardly believe she's even pregnant. The whole thing has been a shock for him, when it shouldn't be, since he was the one having unprotected sex with her.

You wouldn't know it to look at her though, her body doesn't look pregnant at all. Ichigo finds himself wondering if she'll have an extra small baby, particularly when he considers her small size.

She does like to hold and stare at the baby shoes he bought for her, though. Her face gets all dreamy, and he can tell she's imagining what their child might look like.

The thing though, is that his sexual appetite hasn't decreased at all, just because she's pregnant. He has been working her body every night, no longer even being concerned about getting her pregnant, since she already is.

The problem is, that today, his sisters have friends staying over, and his dad is awake. Ichigo finally decides on a plan of action. He is pleased with himself for coming up with such a good plan.

After dinner, while under the pretense of a walk, Ichigo walks Rukia out, and produces the keys to his father's car, the moment they're outside.

"What's that for?" Rukia asks him, and he smirks at her.

"Come on, we're going to do it in the car." He tells her, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"Really? How come?" She asks, and Ichigo chuckles.

"The girls have friends over. I can't drive us anywhere, since I don't have my license, but we can still do it in the car. We'll just get in spirit form first. Let Chappy and Kon walk around in our place." Ichigo says, and Rukia raises an eyebrow.

"What did we need the keys for then?" She asks, and Ichigo blushes.

"I was only focused on one part of the plan." Ichigo confesses, and Rukia laughs.

"I hope your father doesn't notice them missing." She says, and he gives her a nervous look.

"Come on, I'm anxious to get you naked." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia smiles as he pulls her towards the car.

She pulls out Chappy, and Ichigo takes out his pill. They both pop out of their bodies.

"Kon, take Chappy on a nice walk, no groping." Ichigo order him, and Rukia nods her head at Chappy.

"Sure thing, pyon!" Chappy says, as she salutes Rukia.

Ichigo and Rukia head into the backseat of the car, where they both start yanking off their robes.

"I've been thinking about this all day long." Ichigo mutters, as he starts seeing more and more of her creamy skin exposed to him.

"Really?" Rukia asks, and she feels really flattered.

"You don't even know…" Ichigo mutters, before he attacks her with his mouth.

The fear that his father could notice the keys missing, makes him feel very alert, and he also has been waiting for hours, to get her alone.

"Ichigo…Ichigo!" Rukia starts to call out, as he swishes his tongue wildly around her inner folds, letting it roam everywhere around her moist crevices.

"Mm, Rukia…" Ichigo moans, as he works his way down her legs, and relieves her of her shinigami footwear, and her socks.

"What are you doing?" Rukia asks suddenly, as he guides her big toe into his mouth and begins to lick it.

Rukia falls back against the seat and immediately tries to wrench her foot away, but he has her ankle firm in his grasp, and the more he twirls his tongue around her toe, the more it starts to feel pleasurable for her.

He finally pops her toe out of his mouth, and then works his tongue up her ankle and calf, and she shivers from his attentions. He laps at her folds some more, and then moves upward, up her belly.

Then he takes her hand, and begins to lick and suck on the tips of her fingers, which sends little waves of pleasure up her body. He knows she doesn't pay attention in school, but when he'd learned where the body's main nerve areas were, he knew he wanted to kiss and lick those places on Rukia's body. She sits back up.

"Everything about you is perfect." Ichigo murmurs, as he moves to her breasts and begins to give them the same attention he gave to everything else thus far.

He pushes her back on the seat, and he begins to rubs himself around the outside of her for just a moment, getting the head of his arousal moist with her wetness. He stares at her body in complete desire, and then he begins to work himself inside of her.

It still amazes him that she can feel so damned tight, even though he's had sex with her more times than he's been able to keep track of, since he first gave himself to her.

Rukia reaches up and starts grabbing at his body. First his shoulders, then his arms, then his chest, and then she wraps her hands around the back of his neck, and pulls him closer to her, as he moans, pushing into her with immense force.

"Yeah…yeah…oh yeah, Ichigo!" Rukia's voice is in rhythm with his pushes, and he can feel her tightening around him.

He grits his teeth, after getting her going so well beforehand, he wants to make sure she really enjoys it, so he starts to purposely focus on his uncomfortable position in the car, even as he attempts to put a bit more muscle into it.

It's really not much help. The feelings of pleasure easily override the ones of discomfort, but then she grabs his ass, and encourages him to push even harder, even as her moans change in their pitch, and he recognizes that she's about to climax.

_I have to wait for that moment, and come with her._

"Rukia…" Ichigo moans out, in between grunts, and he feels it all.

The feeling of being inside her, having his hands on her body, and having his body push against hers, as they make love…it all makes him unable to hold back any further, and as she lets out a really loud moan, he fires his canon inside of her.

Suddenly, there's knocking on the car window. Ichigo and Rukia look up to see Kon and Chappy smiling and waving at them from the outside. They quickly get their robes back on, while shooting the temporary soul and mod soul some dirty looks.

With a bit of embarrassment, they collect their bodies, and head into the house.

When Isshin spots them, he has a big fat smile plastered on his face, and Ichigo isn't sure he's got the best feeling about that development.

"Ichigo! Guess what?" Isshin asks, and Ichigo shrugs.

"What?" He asks, and Isshin produces a picture from behind his back.

"You wanted a picture of it, and I forgot to give it to you before dinner!" He says excitedly, and Ichigo furrows his eyebrows in confusion, until he gets a look at the picture.

Rukia and Ichigo both start to laugh when they look. Byakuya wrapped up in Isshin's binding spell on the floor…it's simply priceless.

"Thanks. This is one picture I want to keep forever." Ichigo says, with a smirk.

"I'll bet you do." Rukia says, with a laugh.

"Oh, and next weekend…don't make any plans." Isshin says mysteriously.

_The Next Weekend…_

"What is this?" Rukia asks, when Isshin presents her with the wedding dress.

"The reason I forced Ichigo to spend the night at a friend's house, wasn't really because the girls had friends coming over. It's because you're going to get married!" Isshin says, and Rukia's mouth drops open.

"But ni-sama and Renji would want to be there if I were getting married!" Rukia protests, and Isshin smiles at her.

"They'll be there. You just get that dress on, and Yuzu will help you with your hair." He tells her.

When Ichigo hears about what his father has planned, he's both happy and angry. Happy because he'll be married to Rukia, but angry that it was kept secret from him. He forgets his anger though, when he sees Rukia in his mother's altered wedding dress. He barely even notices her brother, with a dutiful scowl in place.

_She's stunning!_

The wedding is more like a dream to him, than real life, and as he's leaning down to kiss her, to finalize the ceremony, he's no longer angry with his father.

_This is the best surprise I've ever been given. The result is me being married to Rukia._


	77. As Requested: Sorry, Thank You

**A/N-I had a request to do this, so it's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Sorry, Thank You_

Ichigo has noticed, out of the corner of his eyes, that Tatsuki is throwing him a dirty look, as he runs out of the classroom with Rukia, to go and kill a hollow. He doesn't really think twice about it, he has a job to do, and he takes it very seriously.

When Ichigo and Rukia actually make it to the hollow, they see it is very large, and actually has a decent reiatsu. It looks like a huge bear, but with silver fur.

Ichigo jumps in first, expecting it to be a quick kill, but this hollow's ability ends up making the fight quite the pain in the ass for him.

Its ability, is that it can reflect attacks. So when Ichigo tries to come down, the hollow meets his zanpakutou with a hardened claw, that acts like a sword. As Ichigo is stopped in midair, his eyes narrow.

"Getsuga Tenshou!" Ichigo calls out next, but that's when he learns the full extent of the hollow's ability to reflect an attack.

"Ichigo!" Rukia calls out worriedly.

His Getsuga Tenshou is sent back at him, and Ichigo goes flying. He lands on Rukia, and the hilt of his zanpakutou cracks her in the side of the head, as a result. She crumples to the ground, unconscious.

Ichigo is livid. Seeing Rukia crumpled to the ground like that is enough to make him see red.

"Bankai. Tensa Zangetsu." Ichigo growls out angrily, as Chappy cradles Rukia's head in her lap and weeps.

Ichigo doesn't use his Getsuga Tenshou anymore, he simply uses his great speed, and within seconds, has carved the hollow apart, from head to toe.

He hurries over to Rukia's side, and deduces that she's not injured, beyond being knocked out.

He merges with his body, and places Rukia in her gigai, but she still isn't waking up. He picks her up in his arms, to carry her home, while wearing an expression of complete concern.

"Damn it, Rukia. You had better be okay." He tells her in a low fervent voice. He can see other students from his school heading home, so he picks up his pace. Tatsuki sees him carrying Rukia, and she hurries over to his side.

"Ichigo! What happened to Kuchiki-san?" Tatsuki asks, and he shakes his head.

"I'm really worried about her." Ichigo says in a low fervent voice, and Tatsuki gives him a weird look.

"Is it really that big a deal?" She asks, and Ichigo's gaze snaps to hers. She can clearly see his love for the girl in his arms, as she looks at his worried face.

"Of course it is! Just look at her! I hope she wakes up soon." Ichigo mutters, as he adjusts Rukia a bit more comfortably in his arms.

"Oh…I guess I just didn't realize until now, just how important she was to you." Tatsuki says, even as she imagines Inoue's crying face.

_She's going to be so heartbroken over this…_

"Please wake up, Rukia." Ichigo says to the girl in his arms, rather than talking to the girl at his side.

"Are you going to be alright?" Tatsuki asks, realizing that her longtime friend is also in a lot of pain, at the moment.

"I'll be alright, when I'm sure she is." Ichigo mutters, not letting his worried gaze leave Rukia's face.

"Ichigo…you're in love with her, aren't you?" Tatsuki asks slowly, and he turns bright red. A clear indication that she's hit the target right in the bulls eye.

"Tatsuki…" Ichigo's voice has a warning note in it, one that tells her he doesn't appreciate her question.

"Don't worry, I don't need you to answer. The way you're acting with her is enough. I used to think you didn't really like her…" Tatsuki says, and Ichigo throws her a glare.

"Look. I haven't really figured out everything for myself yet, but she is very important to me." Ichigo says in a tight voice, deciding to confide in his friend just a little bit.

"So it doesn't matter if I tell you that you're breaking another girl's heart?" Tatsuki asks, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"Tatsuki…_you_?" Ichigo says, stopping short, to stare at his childhood friend. She makes a fist, though she doesn't hit him, since he's carrying Kuchiki.

"Not me, you idiot!" Tatsuki growls, and Ichigo frowns.

"Whoever it is, tell them to give it up." Ichigo says, and he continues walking.

"You don't even know who it is!" Tatsuki objects, but Ichigo shakes his head at her.

"That doesn't matter." Ichigo tells her, and Tatsuki gawks at him a bit.

"No matter who it is?" Tatsuki says again, and Ichigo nods.

"It doesn't matter who it is." He says firmly.

"If you feel that strongly about it, why haven't you done anything about it yet?" Tatsuki asks, and Ichigo glances at her quickly.

"I don't know. It was never the right time…" Ichigo mutters, and Tatsuki rolls her eyes.

"Well, if you feel that strongly about her, I'm sorry if I've seemed rude. I do want you to be happy." Tatsuki says, even as she dreads her friend finding out.

"Thanks, Tatsuki." Ichigo says gratefully, and he can't stop being worried that Rukia hasn't woken up.

"Take good care of her." Tatsuki says softly, as she heads up the path to her house.

Ichigo turns the corner, and comes to his own house, where he hops up with Rukia, into his room through the window. He lays her down in the bed, and stares at her nervously.

_Why hasn't she woken up yet?!_

He keeps a silent vigil over her, as she lays in his bed, and it isn't until a full half hour later, with him worrying every second of the way, that she wakes up.

"Ichigo! The hollow-" Rukia's first words are cut off, as she looks around and realizes they're in his room.

"Sorry Rukia, it's all my fault." Ichigo says in a low guilty voice.

Rukia thinks back, to what happened, and she remembers he was reflected, and he landed into her. Something cracked into her head, and then everything had gone black until now.

"It wasn't you." Rukia says, as she slowly sits up.

"I was pretty worried about you." Ichigo says, with his voice shaking a bit from the emotions he's experienced, since she fell unconscious.

Rukia's first instinct, is to remind him that she's a strong person, and that he doesn't have to worry so much, but when she looks at his face, she's a bit taken aback by all of the emotion that she sees there.

_I suppose if the situation were reversed, I'd be worried about him too._

"Sorry. I should have moved out of the way." Rukia says, with a small sigh, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"No…" Ichigo says softly, as he stares at her.

He wants to tell her how he feels, he wants her to know…but he doesn't feel like he can say it.

"Thanks for taking such good care of me." Rukia says, looking back at his face, and at his emotional expression.

"It was no problem…" Ichigo mutters, not saying the rest.

_That won't ever change…_

"I think I'm okay now." Rukia whispers, softly, a bit affected by his show of emotion.

_I can read him like a book…_

"I'm glad. I don't like to see you hurt." He says in a low voice.

He looks down, as she gets out of the bed and walks over to him. His eyes widen as she puts her arms around him, and hugs him tight.

"Really Ichigo, thank you." she says fervently, and his arms wrap around her as well.

"Anytime, Rukia." Ichigo says tightly, as he basks in the feeling of being so close to her.

_Especially if you're going to hug me like this._


	78. As Requested: Camping Trip

**A/N- I had a request to send Rukia on a camping trip with Ichigo! This is dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Camping Trip_

When Inoue managed to successfully convince the group that they should camp in the mountains, get away, and enjoy themselves for a bit, she wondered if she might be able to maneuver herself into being able to sleep next to Kurosaki-kun.

She has no idea that he hasn't even given her, a second thought.

No, Ichigo is making sure he and Rukia have everything they'll need, for their camping trip, but it seems they're missing two things. Sleeping bags. Ichigo knows he has one, but he can't find it anywhere, no matter how hard he looks.

Yuzu and Karin didn't know where his sleeping bag was either, and they've outgrown theirs, without getting new ones yet. Ichigo didn't realize that his father had overheard his plans, and had come up with the world's best plan ever.

Ichigo won't find his sleeping bag, because it's hidden in a secret crawlspace that the kids don't know about. It's the place Isshin keeps their Christmas presents when he buys them too early in the year.

Finally, Ichigo asks his father, and Isshin does his best not to give away his brilliant plan on his reaction alone.

"Of course I have something you and Rukia-chan can use!" Isshin says, and Ichigo smiles in relief.

"Great, it's the last thing we need for our trip." Ichigo says, and his father disappears.

When he comes back, Ichigo only sees one sleeping bag.

"We need another one." Ichigo told his father, but Isshin just smiles.

"This one comfortably fits two people. I used it with your mother years ago. You might have even been conceived in that." Isshin tells him, and Ichigo turns bright red.

"I can't sleep in this with Rukia!" Ichigo argued back at the top of his lungs, and Isshin snorts.

"Why not? It's not as if it hasn't been washed. If you're going to be like that, then you shouldn't eat at the kitchen table either." Isshin tells him with a smirk.

Karin overhears him and nearly gags, while Yuzu's mouth drops open, since she too overheard.

"The kitchen table?!" Yuzu gasps in horror.

Ichigo and his father begin fighting, while the girls both grimace with their new understanding of the places sex can occur.

"That's not why! What makes you think Rukia would be okay with this?! She'd kick me out of that, and I'd shiver all night long!" Ichigo argues with his father loudly enough that Rukia comes downstairs.

"Ichigo! I would never do such a thing to you! If there's only one, then I will happily share with you! After all, haven't you and your family shared your home with me?" Rukia says, causing Ichigo to collapse to the floor while his father laughs triumphantly.

"See! Rukia-chan will share!" Isshin proclaims happily.

_Does she even know what we're talking about?!_

Rukia is not aware, but she would never kick Ichigo out to shiver, not even if it would save her own life.

_Later…_

"We've been walking for hours…don't you think we should find a place to camp?" Ishida asks, and Inoue looks towards the mountain. She had been hoping to make it to the slope before they stopped.

"Yeah, remember we have to walk this far back in two days, too." Ichigo says, and Rukia rolls her eyes.

"My legs aren't even tired." She says, and Ichigo grins.

_That's my Rukia…wait did I just think she's mine? Why in the hell would I think that?! Then again…we will be sharing a sleeping bag later…_

"Come on, I want to go a bit further." Inoue pushes, and the guys relent. If Rukia and Inoue aren't tired, none of them are going to admit to being ready to stop.

"Why did you bring so much shit?" Ichigo asks, as he stares at the tent, sleeping bag, and clothes bag that Ishida has strapped to his back.

"Because I don't like the idea of snakes or other creatures slithering over me as I sleep." Ishida responds, as he pushes his glasses up.

Inoue shivers in disgust. She hadn't thought of that. She doesn't want anything slithering over her either.

Rukia nearly laughs. Nothing will crawl over her, she'll make a barrier around where she sleeps.

_Humans have to worry about the strangest things._

"So tell me more about this camping. We're looking for a spot to stop, but what will we do once that happens?" Rukia asks, and Sado lets out a soft laugh, while Ichigo blushes.

"Well, we're going to live in the wild for a couple of nights." He says, and Rukia simply nods her head.

"So once we get there, we're just going to start living?" Rukia asks, trying to understand, and Ichigo laughs.

"I guess you could put it that way, but don't explain it that way. It sounds weird." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia raises an eyebrow.

_It sounds weird, but we're the ones doing it._

"Shit! I didn't bring any pajamas!" Rukia exclaims suddenly, as she looks down at her tee-shirt and cargo pants.

"I have them. I'm sure I got everything we'd need." Ichigo mutters.

He doesn't intend to tell her now, that the only clean pair of pajamas available are her most revealing ones. Short shorts, and a skimpy halter top. That's what makes it twice as embarrassing that they're sharing a damned sleeping bag. Rukia hurries ahead of him, because she thinks she sees a rabbit.

"And why do you only have one sleeping bag?" Ishida asks Ichigo, getting a blush from the Substitute Shinigami.

"It's all we had, and Rukia agreed to share." Ichigo mutters, even though Rukia is not in earshot.

"Are you serious?" Ishida asks, and Ichigo blushes harder.

"Yeah, I was shocked too. I'm not even sure she knows that that means." Ichigo tells him in a low voice, and Inoue who hears the whole thing, looks like she's just been shot in the heart.

_Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san are sleeping together?! _

Ichigo hopes that Rukia doesn't make a scene later. It will be embarrassing if she freaks out. He tries not to think about that.

_Later…_

It's dark outside, and the guys are trying to build a fire in the old fashioned way. Rukia had offered to use her kidou, but they had turned her down. She's sitting up in a tree, watching them try very hard, but if they're not having a whole lot of success.

Ichigo starts to get very frustrated, and Rukia just ignores him. She offered to help, but they turned her down, so now they have to come to her. Rukia dozes off in the tree, waiting for them to get the fire started.

Once the fire is roaring, Ichigo looks up in the tree at Rukia who is sleeping. He pops himself out of his body, and hops up onto the branch next to her. He wakes her up, and she looks down at the fire, before smiling.

"You finally got it going." Rukia says, and Ichigo nods his head.

"It took awhile, we should have just accepted your offer to use kidou." Ichigo tells her.

"Did Ishida bring a house with him?" Rukia asks, as she stares down at his tent.

"Looks like it. Though I wouldn't expect anything less of him." Ichigo's says, as he shakes his head.

"I suppose. What do we do now?" Rukia asks curiously, and Ichigo gives her a look.

"Want to go for a walk?" He asks her, and she nods her head.

"Sure." Rukia says, and they both hop out of the tree.

Ichigo collects his body, and goes to grab a flashlight out of his bag. When Inoue sees him grab it, she steps forward.

"What are you doing?" She asks with a smile, and he glances at her.

"I was about to go on a walk with Rukia." Ichigo says, and Inoue gulps, before she tries to push her way in on that.

"Why don't we join you?" She says, and Ishida shakes his head.

"We have to keep an eye on the fire. I can always stay here, if you want to go." Ishida says, and Sado nods.

"I also don't feel comfortable leaving the fire unattended." Sado says, and Inoue looks back and forth. She doesn't want Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san going off alone together, but she also doesn't want to be a third wheel.

"Just stay here, Inoue." Ichigo says, before he nods his head at Rukia, to follow him.

Ichigo and Rukia walk off alone together, with Inoue staring after them wistfully.

Ichigo and Rukia stay on their walk for so long, that Inoue accepts Ishida's offer to share his tent, and Sado falls asleep by the fire.

* * *

Ichigo and Rukia are lost. It's so dark, and they've gotten themselves turned around.

"We can just sense their reiatsu can't we?" Ichigo asks, but for some reason, he can't feel it.

"I can't sense it. I wonder if this mountain hinders that ability." Rukia says, as they've made their way to the mountain slope where Inoue originally wanted to stop to camp.

"I would say we can stay here, but we don't even have the sleeping bag, and I don't want to sleep in these clothes." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia grins at him.

"Give me a minute. I'll jump up in the sky high enough to see the fire, and we'll head back." Rukia says, and Ichigo shakes his head.

"Let me do it." He says, and Rukia nods her head.

"Be my guest." She tells him, and he pops out of his body.

Rukia holds his body up, while he flies straight up. He quickly spots the camp, and lands on the ground to recollect his body.

"We have to go that way, until we run into them." Ichigo says confidently, and Rukia grins.

"Come on." She says, and they hurry to make their way back to camp. It takes awhile, since they don't want to trip over branches or anything, but finally they spot the glow of the campfire.

Ichigo immediately pulls out their night clothes, and he throws Rukia's pajamas at her. She catches them, and then looks up at him.

"There." He says, and Rukia looks at Sado on the ground.

"Where are we supposed to change?" She asks, and he blushes.

"Out in the woods, it's like this." He mutters, before he pulls off his shirt, and turns so that his back is to her.

Rukia's mouth drops open, as he undresses down to his underwear, and throws on his sweatpants. A tee shirt is next, and then he stays put.

"You just changed in front of me." Rukia says in a low voice, and he blushes.

"Where else was I supposed to do that?" He asks, and Rukia frowns.

_Would he have done that if Inoue were out? Where is she anyways? In Ishida's tent? Did she change in front of the guys?_

"So what would I do if the others were awake?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo glances at her.

"I guess you could hide behind a tree or something." He says, and Rukia nods, before she walks over to a tree, to do just that.

While she's changing, Ichigo unrolls the ridiculously huge sleeping bag, and he wonders what she'll have to say, when she realizes just what their proximity will be.

She comes out from behind the tree, with her clothes folded in her arms. She's still trying to figure out why humans would want to do this, rather than to stay in their cozy homes.

"Now what?" Rukia whispers loudly, and Ichigo blushes.

"Now we go to sleep." He says, before he gets inside the sleeping bag.

Rukia just stares at him.

"Where?" She asks him, and he rolls his eyes at her.

"Get in." He says, motioning the bag. She drops her clothes and turns bright red.

"What?" Rukia asks, in a near squeak.

"I'm too tired to argue with you. Get in." He tells her, and Rukia gawks at him.

"But wouldn't I be imposing on you?" Rukia asks, and he scoffs.

"You were the one who offered to share it with me, when my dad lent it to us." He reminds her, and Rukia looks like someone just gave her the shock of her life.

"You don't mind?" Rukia asks in a low voice, as she stares at the sleeping bag.

"It's fine." He tells her in a tight voice.

She picks up her clothes, and slowly walks over to him, before she gets into the bag with him. She lays on her back, completely rigid, staring up. She quickly puts a barrier around them, that is easy to see through as though it's not even there.

At first, she doesn't realize what a beautiful portrait that mother nature has put in front of her eyes. Ichigo turns on his back, and stares up, then he hears her sigh in awe.

"Wow, look at all of those stars." Rukia says softly, and Ichigo nods.

"Some people just love to sleep under the stars." He tells her, and Rukia smiles.

"It's beautiful." She agrees, and they're quiet as they stare up together.

After a long moment of silence, they see a shooting star, and Rukia points it out.

"Look at that!" She says excitedly.

"That is a shooting star. When you see one, you're supposed to make a wish." He tells her softly, and Rukia blushes.

_I wish Ichigo would hold me in his arms as we sleep tonight._

"Okay. I made a wish." Rukia whispers, and Ichigo nods.

"Don't tell anyone, or else it won't come true." He tells her, and Rukia nods. Not like she'd tell anyways.

"Ichigo…we're a bit too close to the fire, would you mind dragging us back a bit?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo doesn't say a word.

He simply gets out of the sleeping bag, and drags her back a few meters. He gets back into the sleeping bag, and within minutes, she's snoring. He is now cold though. She doesn't seem affected by it, even when he starts to shiver a bit.

Ichigo is about ready to get out of the sleeping bag, and pull them closer to the fire again, when Rukia suddenly turns and throws her leg over him. Her body is pressed up against his now, and the shivers quickly die down. How such a tiny girl can provide him with such an immense amount of body heat is a mystery to him, but he puts his arm around her, and pulls her closer.

The next day and night, Rukia is in a particularly happy mood, even though she doesn't tell anyone why. They had also been the last ones to wake up, so they didn't see the heartbroken expression on Inoue's face, when she saw them cuddled in each other's arms as they slept. Sado, Inoue, and Ishida were all hunting for fruit when Ichigo and Rukia finally woke up.

The day was spent hiking, and hunting for things to eat. Ichigo shared a couple of candy bars with Rukia, that he'd brought along, which she had stared at with an expression of true happiness.

When the sun started to set, the guys started to gather sticks and large pieces of wood for the fire, while Inoue changed in Ishida's tent. Rukia hopped up in a tree, and dozed off on the branch.

She only half woke up, when Ichigo lifted her into his arms, and hopped to the ground with her.

"You have to get changed." Ichigo is urging her, but she's not really with it.

"Help me." Rukia mutters, and Ichigo blushes.

"You can change by yourself." He tells her, and he sets her on her feet, only to have her start to topple over. He catches her before she hits the ground.

He stares in amazement at her.

_She's still sleeping!_

He gives in, and helps her change, an activity he's sure he'll never forget, because of how it affected his body. He goes to sleep feeling a bit of pleasure and pain, at the same time.

When Rukia wakes up in the morning, she's even happier than she was the night before, and doesn't even question how she got into her pajamas.

_So you really can wish on a star, and have it come true! I think I loved this camping trip!_


	79. As Requested: Fantasy Picture

**A/N-I had a request to do this, a story where Inoue attempts to break up IchiRuki! It's dedicated to the one that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Fantasy Picture_

It's no secret that Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia have hooked up. They've been seen holding hands, offering each other smiles, and giving each other these _looks_ that can't be interpreted as anything less than a deep loving bond.

Everyone has been talking about it, not that the couple has even noticed, since they're so busy being enthralled with one another. It's a bit weird for the kids who have known Ichigo a long time, to see him acting so out of the ordinary, all for the petite and adorable Kuchiki Rukia.

There is one person who has not been happy with what she's seen. She stares on jealously, at their amazing love. She just can't take it. It's too hard to watch Kuchiki-san, live out her own beautiful dream.

Finally, Inoue can take it no more. Something has to be done about Ichigo and Rukia before she loses her mind. She isn't sure whether or not she can break them up, but that won't stop her from trying. She can't sit idly by watching their love continue to grow. It hurts too much.

It's takes her awhile to come up with a plan, but finally she comes up with one that she thinks will work. It may be a bit underhanded, but all is fair in love and war.

Over the summer, Inoue got really good at using the photo shop program on her computer. She is going to try her hand at making an incriminating picture meant to tear the happy couple apart.

The first part of her plan involves getting several pictures of Kurosaki-kun so that he can manipulate them to make it seem like he's cheated on Kuchiki-san. She's sure that if she does a good job, she can actually break them up. If she can accomplish that, it may not be so inconceivable that she could end up with him in the end.

That is her main wish. All she really wants, is to be with Kurosaki-kun. That is all she's ever wanted. Seeing him with Kuchiki-san is like a knife to her heart. She would do practically anything to not have to see that anymore, even if it's fucked up. She also knows that if she's discovered she could make enemies of everyone. She doesn't want anybody knowing what she's planning on doing.

Ichigo and Rukia have no idea they're being plotted against, because they're on the new love high that has plagued them since their first kiss. Neither one of them even suspect that someone is out to ruin the love that they've finally found with one another.

_A Few Days Later…_

Inoue has gotten plenty of pictures, and she's sure she can create a photo that Rukia will have no choice but to believe. She works for hours, placing the photos just so, in order to make it look like Kurosaki-kun was kissing her, instead of Kuchiki-san.

When she finally feels like her work is perfect, she prints it out. She puts it carefully in her folder, and ponders how quickly it could possibly tear the happy couple apart.

_The sooner the better. I just can't stand it anymore!_

She falls asleep, with hope alive in her heart once more.

_The Next Morning…_

Inoue gets to school much earlier than usual, and slips the bogus picture into Rukia's shoe cubby. She quickly hurries into the ladies room to camp out until much later, so that she's not figured out.

When the students start to trickle in, Inoue rushes over to the cubbies to be seen changing her shoes, nowhere near Kuchiki-san's cubby. She wishes she could stick around, and see the reaction for herself, but she decides that would be too risky, so she heads for the classroom.

The minutes seem to last far longer than usual, and the ticking of the clock is enough to make her want to grab at her head, but she doesn't do that. She remains calm, as she waits for the storm to hit.

_The School Entrance…_

Ichigo and Rukia head into the school, smiling like crazy, since they finally consummated their love the night before. They keep throwing each other little loving and knowing glances, as they head to their cubbies.

When Rukia pulls out her shoes, the picture comes flying out at her face. She grabs it, before it falls to the ground, and she grimaces at the image that she sees.

"Ichigo?" Rukia says in a tight voice, as she grips the picture so hard that her knuckles turn white.

"What?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia hands him the photo.

"Can you please explain this to me?" She asks in a near growl, since the very image is enough to make her want to demolish all of the cubbies in the small hallway.

Ichigo sees her angry look, and he looks confused as he takes the picture from her. Rukia watches his expression very carefully, as his eyes go to the picture that made her feel like being violent.

Ichigo gawks in disbelief. This picture confounds him to the core. He's never kissed Inoue.

"It's not real." Ichigo says quickly, and he looks at Rukia's eyes. "Someone photo chopped it to make it look like I was kissing her." Ichigo says, before he leans forward and whispers. "You're the only girl I've ever kissed." He admits, and Rukia blushes.

She yanks the picture out of his hands and sets it on fire using kidou, while Ichigo looks around nervously, wondering if she's been spotted using her demon arts.

"Maybe someone was trying to test us. I trust you, and so I'm going to forget I ever saw that." She tells him, and he breathes a sigh of relief, that she believes him.

"I wish I could…" Ichigo grumbles, and Rukia laughs.

"Want me to kiss you and make you forget?" She asks, getting her boyfriend to blush.

"Later." He whispers, since he doesn't want the other students to see him melt for Rukia.

They walk into the classroom, walking close together like they've been doing, looking like nothing is out of the ordinary.

Inoue quickly looks away, and wonders whether or not they even saw her picture. It doesn't appear so, by their actions.

Once Rukia is in her seat, and Ichigo's attention is grabbed by the guys, she turns around to look at Inoue.

"Nice try." Rukia mutters at her, before turning back in her seat.

Inoue gasps.

_So they did see! How did she know it was me?!_

Inoue feels so ill, that she runs out of the classroom and to the nurse's office.

Rukia doesn't want to tell Ichigo that she felt Inoue's reiatsu on the picture, but she figures she'll have to explain it later.

_That picture was her fantasy, not fact. I'm the only girl who has Ichigo's love._


	80. As Requested: Truth Or Dare

**A/N-I had a request to do a one shot, where Ichigo and Rukia play Truth or Dare… **

**It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Truth Or Dare_

Ichigo is suddenly wishing that he and Rukia hadn't come to Tatsuki's birthday party, because now Tatsuki is calling for a game of truth or dare.

"Everyone has to play! It's the request of the birthday girl!" Inoue calls out with a big smile, and Ichigo crosses his arms.

"I'm not playing." He grumbles, and Tatsuki raises an eyebrow.

"You coward." Tatsuki accuses, and Ichigo looks away from her.

"Don't call me that. I am not playing truth or dare with you guys." Ichigo reiterates, and Tatsuki smiles evilly.

"We'll see about that." Tatsuki says, before she surprises him by grabbing him.

"Get off of me!" Ichigo growls, but Tatsuki isn't afraid of him.

"Girls! Get him!" Tatsuki barks out, and Ichigo's eyes widen, since Rukia dives at him first.

"You can't say no to the birthday girl!" Rukia tells him, with her eyes sparkling, as she lands on him, and begins tickling him. Ichigo's eyes widen as the other girls start to creep forward as well.

"Rukia! Tatsuki! Get off of me! This isn't funny!" Ichigo hisses, and Rukia laughs, and brings her face so close to his, he wonders if she's about to kiss him.

"Oh it's funny alright, you're playing unless you want me to stay right where I'm at…" She tells him, and Ichigo raises an eyebrow.

"I'd rather have you on top of me than to play truth or dare." Ichigo says boldly, and all of the girls start to murmur at that comment.

"What are you waiting for?! Get him!" Tatsuki orders them, and Ichigo starts to get nervous.

If it was just Rukia and Tatsuki, he could stick it out, but the idea of the other girls laying their hands on him in any way is not something he's okay with.

"Stop it!" Ichigo growls as he throws the other girls a death glare.

"No way! Get him girls!" Tatsuki order for a third time, and that's when Kunieda gets closer.

"I'll help you." She says, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"No! I'll play!" He says in a frantic voice, and then he mutters under his breath. "Crazy bitches…"

Keigo and Mizuiro are laughing at him. Sado has a grin on his face, and Inoue's eyes are wide, because she's sure Kurosaki-kun was okay with Kuchiki-san all over him.

"Okay! Everyone sit down so we can start!" Tatsuki says excitedly.

Ichigo grumbles as he follows the orders, but he looks ready to spring up, and run out if someone decides to lock in on him first.

"You should get to start out, since it's your birthday." Inoue says, hoping Tatsuki dares Kurosaki-kun to kiss her.

"I should, shouldn't I? You're right Orihime!" Tatsuki says with a wicked smile.

"How is this game played? What are the rules?" Rukia asks, and everyone gawks at her.

"You mean…you don't know?!" Kunieda asks incredulously, and Rukia blushes.

Ichigo just shakes his head in disbelief. He can't believe she doesn't know, after she just helped force him to play. He leans over.

"It's simple Rukia. Tatsuki is going to pick a person, and ask them truth or dare. When she asks that, the person will choose one or the other. Then depending on what they choose, she dares them to do something, or she inquires about something she wants a truthful answer to." He tells her, and Rukia's eyes widen in horror as she stares at him.

"You're kidding me." Rukia says, under her breath, and Ichigo shakes his head.

"Nope. No joke." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia swallows. "Regretting making me play now?" He mutters at her, and Rukia swallows again.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo shrugs.

"The name of the game is self explanatory, at least that's what I thought." He whispers, and Rukia looks at the rest of the partygoers.

"Okay, I understand now." Rukia tells them, and she receives a few weird stares from everyone except the ones who know she's only been in the living world a short time, in comparison to them.

"Okay! First, I pick…Kuchiki-san!" Tatsuki announces, and Rukia blushes.

"Me?" She asks, and she suddenly doesn't know whether or not to pick truth or dare.

Rukia glances at Ichigo who gives her a desperate look. She can tell he doesn't want her to pick truth.

"Yeah! Truth or dare?" Tatsuki asks, and Rukia blushes.

"Um, dare I guess." Rukia says, and Tatsuki laughs.

"I dare you to kiss a guy in the room, on the lips. Any guy." Tatsuki says, wondering who she'll choose.

Rukia turns as red as a tomato, before she glances at Ichigo, who is also blushing. He doesn't know what to do, because he doesn't exactly want to receive his first kiss from her in front of all of their friends, nor does he want her picking a different guy to kiss.

Rukia leans over so fast that Ichigo can't even react, and then she presses her amazingly soft lips against his own lips. He feels a bit lightheaded.

"I knew you'd pick him." Tatsuki says with a laugh, and Rukia blushes again.

"Now what?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo rolls his eyes.

"Now you get to ask someone else truth or dare." He explains, and Rukia looks right at him.

"Ichigo. Truth or dare?" She asks, and he looks like he wants to kill her.

"Truth." Ichigo says quickly, hoping she won't embarrass him too much.

"Did you like my kiss?" Rukia asks immediately, and he turns bright red again, before he simply nods his head yes.

"Keigo. Truth or dare?" Ichigo asks, and Keigo smirks.

"Dare." He says, and Ichigo smiles.

"Dare you to challenge Tatsuki to an arm wrestling match." Ichigo says quickly, and Keigo glares at him. Tatsuki gets a gleam in her eyes.

"Yeah, go ahead and challenge me!" She taunts him, and Keigo gets a sour look on his face.

"I challenge you to an arm wrestling match." Keigo mutters, and Tatsuki laughs.

"You're on!" Tatsuki tells him.

After Keigo is beaten and humiliated, the game proceeds on, until Inoue is picked by Ishida.

"Dare." Inoue says, causing everyone to give her a look of shock.

"Dare you to dance around the room for two minutes." Ishida says, and Inoue blushes as she stands, and Tatsuki turns up the music.

The daring moves all around the group again, until it gets to Ichigo, who is being asked truth or dare by Sado.

"Truth." Ichigo says, thinking his good friend Sado won't sell him out.

"Who do you think the cutest girl in our grade is?" Sado asks, and Ichigo turns red once again. He doesn't think he can handle much more of this game.

"Rukia." Ichigo mutters, before he quickly turns to Kunieda to ask her truth or dare.

"Why don't you two start dating already?" Tatsuki asks, as she stares back and forth between the couple.

"Shut up.'" Ichigo grumbles, before he looks at Kunieda "Truth or dare?" Ichigo asks, and she straightens up.

"Truth." She replies, and Ichigo quickly takes the focus away from romance.

"How long do you typically spend studying each night?" Ichigo asks curiously, and Kunieda laughs.

"Hours. I start after dinner, and I don't stop until I fall asleep at my desk." She replies, and Ichigo's eyes widen. He can't imagine how uncomfortable that must be.

The game continues for ten more minutes, with it getting progressively more perverted, until Keigo has a chance to pay Ichigo back for humiliating him earlier.

"Kuchiki-san, truth or dare?" Keigo asks, and Rukia chooses the same thing she's been choosing.

"Dare." Rukia answers, and Keigo smirks at Ichigo.

"I dare you to either kiss me, or confess your feelings to the man that you most like here." He tells her, but before Rukia can respond, Ichigo is standing and yanking her up by her arm.

Before anybody can stop him, he drags Rukia out of house, and away from the party.

"The truth is, I've had a thing for you, for the longest time." Rukia tells him, causing him to stop in his tracks and stare at her.

"You did?" He asks, and Rukia smiles.

"I did. I dare you to confess the same." Rukia says, and Ichigo blushes for what feels like the tenth time tonight.

"I am crazy about you, but you already knew that." Ichigo tells her, before leaning down to catch her lips without being stared at by their friends.

Rukia's eyes show her happiness, and they start to walk home. Rukia grins.

_I think I like truth or dare!_


	81. As Requested: Terrible Itch

**A/N-I had a request to do this, and it's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy.**

_Terrible Itch_

When Rukia had learned that Ichigo's father and sisters would be gone for a full week, immediately after summer vacation started, she had been awfully excited.

The last day of school though, in the afternoon, they had gone hollow hunting. They had saved a young child, who appeared to have some sort of human illness. Rukia had gotten into her gigai to help the child into a chair on his front porch, so that she didn't scare him by picking him up in Shinigami form.

That night, his father left…but Rukia wasn't feeling so good all of a sudden. She's never felt as miserable as what she's currently feeling either.

Ichigo is worried about her. It's not like Rukia to be under the weather, and he hopes she gets over it quickly, so that she can enjoy her week of freedom in his house. She feels so miserable, that he lets her have the bed, while he crashes out on the couch downstairs.

When he wakes up in the morning, he doesn't see Rukia, so he heads upstairs to check on her, and to see if she's feeling any better.

When he opens the door to his room, Rukia is completely hidden by his covers, and he steps cautiously inside.

"Rukia? Are you alright? You feeling any better?" He asks, but all he gets from her is an agonized moan.

"Get out of here Ichigo! I don't want you seeing me like this!" Rukia croaks out, since she had practically screamed at the sight of herself in the mirror when she'd used the bathroom earlier.

"What are you talking about?" He asks in confusion, as he walks closer to the bed.

"I'm going to blast you with a kidou spell if you take one step closer!" Rukia says in a panicked voice, and Ichigo stops for a second.

_Something is really wrong with her. I guess I have to risk it._

Rukia's panic only gets worse when her threat doesn't work. She's feeling way too lousy to properly shoot off a spell right now, so she's not happy that he's called her bluff.

She's never seen herself looking so bad off. She doesn't want to see the look of disgust on his face, so she grabs onto the covers with all her might, to prevent him from yanking them off of her.

"Tell me what's wrong. Maybe I can help." Ichigo says, and Rukia growls.

"Didn't you hear me?! Go away!" She says in a pitiful voice, and the tone of it actually affects his heart, not that he'd admit it.

"Let me see your face." Ichigo says, and he can hear her unhappy snort in response.

"Like hell! Go away!" She says, and he of course, doesn't listen.

"Did you forget that you're in _my_ bed?" He asks in an annoyed voice, since arguing with her is tiring.

"I swear to you Ichigo…I am so close to blasting a shot of fire at your head right now…" Rukia's grumbling is ignored once more, and he grabs at the covers.

It's a struggle, and it's a lot more difficult than he anticipated it might be, when he at first cannot get the blanket away from her at all. For someone who's feeling miserable, she puts up one hell of a fight.

"Damn it Rukia!" Ichigo growls, ready to rip his own blanket apart.

The struggle lasts well over a minute, before he's finally able to force the blanket away from her. When he does, she immediately curls up into the fetal position, and hides her face in the pillow. He doesn't need to see her face to see the problem though. He can tell from her back, since her pajama top rode up a bit in their struggle.

"Stop!" Rukia's voice sounds so small and upset that he just gapes at her a moment.

"Rukia! You have the chicken pox!" He says in shock. Suddenly Rukia feels much better.

_So I didn't contract some sort of new and unknown disease, thank goodness!_

"You know what this is?!" Rukia says, sitting straight up, and Ichigo flinches when he sees how many spots are on her face.

"Damn you got it bad, didn't you?" He asks, and she quickly turns away from him.

"I'm sorry I'm so ugly you can't stand to look at me." She grumbles, and he feels like an ass.

"I didn't mean that, it just looks like you got the chicken pox pretty bad. You have them all over your face." He tells her, before he cringes again.

_Looks itchy as hell…_

"Is there a cure for this or what?" She asks, and Ichigo feels bad for her.

"You just have to ride it out, until they go away. There are preventative measures, but anything beyond that, we'd have to ask my dad, but he's gone for a week." Ichigo explains, and Rukia groans, before she lays back in his bed.

"Looks like you'll be on duty alone, I can hardly fight, feeling as miserable as I do," she tells him.

"It's fine. You just rest. I'll take care of the hollows." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia just moans.

"Do you mind just leaving me alone? I really feel miserable right now." She tells him, and Ichigo nods.

"I'll be in to check on you." He tells her, before he heads downstairs to read in his dad's medical books about how to ease the discomfort of someone with chicken pox.

When he reads about giving a bath in cool or lukewarm water, he starts to blush insanely. She may have chicken pox…but she's still Rukia. The girl he's madly in love with, and would do anything for.

_Not that she'd let me give her a cool bath. How in the hell did she contract a human virus anyways?_

Ichigo decides to contact Urahara. He grabs the phone and dials his number.

"Hello? Urahara-san?" Ichigo says, and the former captain laughs.

"Kurosaki-san! What can I do for you?" He asks, and Ichigo scratches his head.

"Rukia got chicken pox." Ichigo says simply, and he waits for Urahara to gasp.

"She did?" He asks nervously, wondering if his scheme will be figured out.

"Yeah. I didn't know a Shinigami could contract a human virus." Ichigo says, and Urahara sweats.

"Well…I've never heard of it either." He says, even as he wonders what will happen if Ichigo and Rukia figure out what he and Isshin pulled. He imagines the reactions of the couple would be undesirable.

_Flashback_

"I believe Ichigo and Rukia-chan are falling in love! He looks at her in the exact same way that I used to look at Masaki. I want to make sure that she and him are completely compatible so that we can have little ones running around one day. I want Ichigo and Rukia-chan to have kids!" Isshin tells Urahara in the privacy of his own office.

"What makes you think that they can't? Your son isn't like your wife was. He's not a full human. His chain was cut in order to be able to gain his own Shinigami powers. They may already be compatible." Urahara says, and Isshin grins.

"I'm not leaving such a thing to chance. I want you to give Rukia-chan the same kind of gigai that you made for me. Not the first one that stole my powers for twenty years, your more recent version. I want Rukia-chan to turn half human like Ichigo. She won't lose an ounce of her strength as a Shinigami. I'm proof of that." He says, and Urahara gives him a worried look.

"But you are a different story. Your power is-" Urahara is cut off.

"Rukia-chan will be just fine. Just do it. Or do you want me to make your life unpleasant?" Isshin asks, and Urahara nods.

"Okay…but I won't take the fall alone, if they ever figure out what's happened. We need to get a hold of her gigai while she's out of it, remove the temporary soul, and place it into the new gigai. We'll also have to have the temporary soul change into the other dress. It all has to be done before she gets back into her gigai." He says, and Isshin nods.

"We'll manage it. Finish the gigai straight away." Isshin says, and Urahara nods.

_End Flashback_

Urahara definitely is worried now.

_We only switched the bodies three months ago, and she's already contracted a human virus? I guess Isshin-san got his wish._

"I looked in my dad's medical books to see what might help her, do you think that would even help, since she's a Shinigami?" Ichigo asks Urahara, snapping him from his current thoughts.

_I know what Isshin-san would want me to say…_

"Definitely. It could help her, and you wouldn't want to see her suffer, would you? You should probably stay very close to her." He tells Ichigo, which causes him some panic.

"But the books say I should give her cold stuff to eat! I need to go to the store!" Ichigo says, and Urahara sighs.

"I can help you out. How much were you going to spend?" Urahara asks.

"I don't know! A thousand yen maybe more!" Ichigo says, and Urahara grins.

"Okay I'll be by in a little while with some ice cream and-" Urahara is cut off.

"Don't get anything acidic or salty. Get stuff that's cold that she can enjoy okay?" Ichigo says, and then he hangs up the phone.

_I should go check on her._

Ichigo takes the stairs two at a time, and bursts into his room where Rukia moans. He decides to check to see if she has the fever that the book said often accompanied the chicken pox.

"I just want to check your temperature." He tells her, and she doesn't even fight him, which makes him a bit worried.

He gasps when he feels the blazing heat coming off of her head. She's way too hot. He hopes her brain doesn't start frying.

"Go away." Rukia's voice sounds hoarse, and Ichigo stares at her in worry, before he runs out of the bedroom to get a cold compress.

He hopes Urahara-san hurries with the ice cream for Rukia. Ichigo rushes back into the bedroom, and yanks the cover off of her face.

"I need to try to bring down your temperature a bit." He tells her before he sticks the washcloth against her forehead.

Rukia doesn't want to admit it feels good, so she keeps her eyes closed, and simply stays quiet. After a minute he flips the cloth around, and it feels cool once more. Rukia just breathes deeply, and allows him to take care of her. She can't do much else, anyways.

After a minute, Ichigo gets up to re-wet the cloth, and make it cool again. He hurries to take care of it, before he comes back to Rukia. He repeats this act until Urahara makes it over. It takes him far longer than Ichigo anticipated it might.

When he finally hears the knock at the door, he looks down at Rukia.

"Do you want something cool for your throat?" He asks, and Rukia shakes her head no. Ichigo hurries to get the door. When he throws it open, Urahara smiles.

"Delivery service. You owe me exactly one thousand yen." He says, and Ichigo looks at him suspiciously.

"Are you taxing me?" He asks, and Urahara looks guilty as sin.

"Not that much. I have to make a living though, you know." He says, and Ichigo sighs loudly before he yanks his wallet out of his back pocket and pays Urahara. He's handed the grocery bags, and then Ichigo glances up at him.

"Thanks." He says, and Urahara tips his hat.

"No, thank you." He says, and Ichigo shuts the door.

He quickly puts the ice cream, juice, and other items away so that they don't go bad. He dashes back up the stairs, and when he feels Rukia's head, he starts to panic.

"I'm hot." Rukia tells him, and he nods.

"I can feel that. You need a cool bath." He tells her, and Rukia thinks that sounds heavenly.

"Yeah that sounds good." She says, and Ichigo stares at her a second before he stands up.

"I'll go run the water." He tells her before he hurries out of the room.

_Damn! She's really sick! What in the hell am I supposed to do now?!_

He waits until the tub is half full before he goes to retrieve Rukia. He helps her to the bathroom and warns her not to lock the door in case she falls asleep in the tub.

Rukia blushes at the mere idea of that happening, and even worse him having to come inside and get her if that happened. She's already inspected her body, and she is not at all comfortable with the quantity of bright red bumps that have appeared.

She's careful to be alert while in the tub, and she feels an immense amount of relief being in there. She stays in there for a good thirty minutes, before she finally forces herself to gather the strength to get out, dry off, and get a fresh pair of pajamas on.

When she opens the door, Ichigo is standing right there, looking worried as hell.

"Do you want some ice cream?" He asks her, and Rukia smiles.

"Actually that does sound kind of good." She tells him, since she can already feel the heat returning to her body, and even worse, she's beginning to feel itchy.

She makes her way back to his bed while he dashes downstairs to prepare her ice cream for her. Rukia rubs her arms, and groans from discomfort. It's hard to deal with this…having the chicken pox sucks!

A few minutes later, Ichigo is in the room, with some ice cream, Urahara had gotten Neapolitan, to be on the safe side. Ichigo had gotten Rukia a bit of them all so that she can pick what she likes best. He watches her eat, and then he continues to worry about her, even as she begins to scratch at her legs, right in front of him.

"Don't scratch! You can't do that." He tells her, and she glares at him.

"It's impossible not to scratch. It itches." She argues, and he glares back at her.

"If I have to get in that bed and hold you still, I will." He threatens, and Rukia's hand stills.

"Then you'll get the chicken pox." She threatens, but Ichigo smirks at her.

"I already had them when I was a young kid. After you get them once, you don't get them again." He tells her in a smug voice.

After many uncomfortable hours, she manages to fall asleep, while forcing her hands to remain at her side. Ichigo sits in the chair next to the bed all night long.

The next four days are a complete hell for Ichigo. When Rukia's red marks start to open and then scab over, she likes being in his company even less than before. When her fever finally subsides, it's a huge relief for him. He was glad when he finally located the calamine lotion.

Ichigo rubbed the lotion on her arms and legs, eliciting some moans of relief from her. He tends to her the entire time she's affected by the virus, and neither of them realize that it's all due to the fact that Rukia has officially become part human, because of the gigai she's been using.

She also never stopped complaining about the constant itchy feeling that consumed her body. Ichigo hated being tough on her, but he knew that she wasn't supposed to scratch them.

By the time Rukia is back to her normal self, they have become much closer. Rukia goes to the store, and buys him a new set of wristbands to thank him. When she presents them to him and hugs him, he blushes, but he hugs her back.

When Isshin and the girls arrive back, they immediately notice that Ichigo and Rukia seem to have become much closer, and that Rukia has the remnants of the chicken pox still visible. It makes Isshin very happy.

_It looks like I was just in time. These kids are on the verge of taking it to the next step._

It reminds him so much of when he was falling for Masaki, and he can't help but to be happy that Rukia came into his son's life.

_Thank you for making my idiot son happy, Rukia-chan. Now the two of you need to make me happy and hook up already!_


	82. As Requested: Rukia's Drawings 5

**A/N- I believe I should post a warning for this chapter, because it will quickly get quite dirty…so if you can't handle some really strange IchiRuki action, you've been warned! This is dedicated to the person that requested it!**

_Rukia's Drawings 5_

Isshin is not like most other parents. Now that Ichigo and Rukia have been dating awhile, he thought it would be totally hilarious to get them drunk.

_Jeez…they didn't hold back at all, did they?_

He won't be the least bit surprised if they don't remember what happened, in the morning. They drank so much that he knows the only possibility is that they're both completely sloshed out of their minds.

Upstairs, Ichigo and Rukia are hopelessly wasted, though not yet ready to pass out. Instead, Ichigo is horny as hell.

"Rukia…" His voice is teasing, and happy causing her to blush.

"Your father is here!" She reminds him, but under the influence of alcohol, Ichigo really doesn't care.

"So what? I'll kick his ass if he comes in here. Let's get really freaky tonight." He tells her, and her eyes widen.

_We haven't done anything really weird since the day I tied up his hands and played dominatrix._

"How freaky are we talking?" Rukia asks, suddenly interested, and Ichigo smirks at her.

"More freaky than we've ever gotten before." He replies, and Rukia raises an eyebrow.

"Somehow I doubt that." She says, and his smile grows wider.

"I can prove it," He says suggestively, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"How?" she asks, and he pulls her forward for a long and lusty kiss. When he pulls away, he flashes a confident smile.

"I'll even let you use the dildo like you wanted to that one time…if you've got the guts to do it." He says, and Rukia gawks at him.

"You were really against that last time." She reminds him, and he shakes his head.

"Not tonight. Tonight…anything goes." He tells her, and Rukia's head starts to spin from that comment.

"Anything?" She asks, and Ichigo nods his head firmly.

"Anything." He replies, before he reaches out to lift up her dress.

Rukia tries to stay perfectly still, but the effects of the alcohol have her swaying a bit.

"You sure you won't regret this tomorrow?" She asks him, and Ichigo gives her a sexy smile before he lifts her dress completely over her head.

"What happens here tonight, will stay a secret between the two of us." Ichigo tells her in a low voice, and he's so drunk that even though he knows he'll be embarrassed tomorrow, he really doesn't care.

"Alright…" Rukia agrees, and she unzips his pants.

They begin with making out, like they normally do, but Ichigo is far wilder than he usually is. It turns Rukia on, to no end.

"I don't normally feel so out of control…" Ichigo murmurs against her neck, before he starts to lick and kiss her there, getting some very excited moans out of his girlfriend.

"Oh Ichigo, that feels so damned good…" Rukia tells him in a sultry voice that turns him on to no end.

"You feel good…you make me feel good…I want you so bad. Rukia…" Ichigo tells her, and she can feel his desire, in his voice, in his mannerisms, and in his touch.

She starts to grab at his ass, and rub it. She squeezes, and then rubs some more.

"Such a sexy ass…" Rukia tells him, and he blushes a bit.

"No…yours is sexier." He tells her, and she smiles.

He takes her nipple into his mouth and really enjoys the feel of her. She enjoys it as much as him, and he makes it his mission to make her moan in ecstasy.

The foreplay continues on for a good ten minutes, before Rukia escapes his arms and goes to grab the dildo from its hiding place. She gives him a doubtful look, but he's not looking at her, he's just laying on the bed waiting for her to return to him.

"Ichigo…" Rukia says as she slides into the bed, and he turns around to slide down her panties.

He's a bit nervous about what he's proposed, but he's too drunk and arrogant to take it back.

_The room is spinning…_

Ichigo feels like he's even drunker, like the last drink he had, finally hit him hard. He's conscious, but feeling almost incoherent. Rukia has been feeling like that for awhile now, but that doesn't stop her from making the dildo vibrate.

"Mm…" He trails off and mutters something unintelligible, but that doesn't register in her brain, because her eyes are fixed on his beautiful man ass. She's ready to show him that she does in fact have the guts to penetrate him, since he's given her permission.

At first he feels a bit of pressure against him…and then some pain, but he grits his teeth. He bares it…bares the pain, and then something very unexpected happens. She works that damned dildo into his ass, right into a spot that has his entire body shaking, and his erection dripping with his fluids. He starts making a bit of racket, not that Rukia reacts to that in any other way besides pushing it in deeper.

Rukia can tell he likes it from the way he sucks in a shaky breath, and then his toes start to curl. He reaches around, and pulls it out, and then he captures his tiny girlfriend.

They have the roughest sex they've had to date, making quite a racket, so much so that even Isshin hears them. He flies against her in a demanding way, before he climaxes within her, and then they both pass out.

_The Next Morning…_

Ichigo wakes up with his head pounding, and his ass hurting. Rukia is naked in bed with him, and she has the dildo gripped in her hand.

His eyes widen, as he realizes what must have happened, even though he doesn't remember much after taking her dress off. He can't deny that something happened though, because his ass has never felt this way after waking up.

"Boy you sure weren't gentle…" He grumbles, even as he glares at the offensive dildo.

_How drunk was I to let this happen?! This is so embarrassing…_

He decides that he absolutely must get the stupid thing out of her hands, and hidden away. Maybe…if he's lucky…she won't remember any of it. He really doesn't want her to remember him taking a dildo up the ass.

_I'm never getting that drunk again! I could kill pops!_

He tries to pry the thing out of her hands, but he only manages to wake her up.

"Ichigo?" Rukia mutters, and he turns bright red.

"Put that thing away where it belongs…better yet, get rid of it completely." He tells her in an annoyed voice, but Rukia's eyes widen.

"But you loved it! You were dripping with desire when I put this inside of you." She tells him, since she made sure she etched that into her brain last night.

It had turned her on so much, to see him drip uncontrollably with his pre-cum. He turns purple.

"Don't say that!" He hisses, and Rukia laughs.

"It was hot, and you wanted it." She informs him, and he glares at her.

"Well it's not so hot in the morning…I'm sore as hell." He tells her in a sour voice.

"Probably because that's the first time you had something up there." Rukia says, with a yawn.

"I do remember one thing…what happened last night was to stay between us." Ichigo says, right before Rukia slides over him and yanks the closet open.

Kon falls out.

"My eyes! The things I saw last night! My eyes!" Kon shrieks, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"Kon! You were in there?!" Ichigo says in a horrified voice.

"It was horrible! Here I thought I was going to finally get to enjoy myself, and get a good view of nee-san, but instead…I want to poke my own eyeballs out! I can't though! I can't! I want to see big boobies again one day!" Kon cries, and Rukia picks him up.

"Do you want to die?" She asks him in a hard voice, and Kon starts shaking his head no.

"No! Nee-san! I like living!" Kon says, and Rukia glares at him.

"Then you'd better forget last night, completely. If I ever hear you talking about it, or hear anyone say you talked about it, I'll destroy you myself." She warns him, and he simply nods his head yes.

"That does seem best." He says, and Rukia nods her head before she hides the dildo.

"Ichigo?" Rukia asks, and he glares at her, since his ass feels wretched.

"What?" He asks in a growl.

"You have the world's sexiest ass!" Rukia tells him, with a grin, before she grabs her robe, and runs for the bathroom.

She's not quick enough. Even with his sore ass and pounding head, he catches up to her in an instant, and sweeps her up in his arms.

"You'd better keep your promise, Rukia." He tells her, with a serious look in his eyes.

"I will." Rukia says simply, and Ichigo kisses her hard on the lips, before he pulls away, and stares at her.

"I love you, Rukia." He whispers, and she smiles at him.

"I love you too." She whispers back, and he sets her back down so she can go shower.

_He's gotten so good at saying that, but I already knew that Ichigo._


	83. As Requested: All In A Days Work 2

**A/N-This is the second part to the series, All In A Day's Work, and it is quite obviously a lemon. It's dedicated to the man that requested it, please enjoy!**

_All In A Days Work 2_

It's only been a half hour since they finished their first round, but Rukia decided to prance around Sado's apartment completely naked…which made Ichigo get hard in hardly any time at all.

_I feel like I could make love to her endlessly!_

He's got his boxers on, but he's enjoying the sight of Rukia walking around naked, it's like his dream come true.

_It's almost unbelievable, since we spent so long not doing anything…now she's finally mine…_

Rukia glances at the state of his boxers, and she begins to smirk at him.

"Ready already?" She asks him, and he turns a bit red.

"You're the one parading around here in the buff." He reminds her, and Rukia winks at him.

"Is that all it takes?" She asks innocently, and Ichigo stares at her, his eyes filled with intensity.

"Yeah. That's all it takes. You're killing me here." He tells her, and she frowns at him.

"You're complaining about it?!" She asks, and he shakes his head no.

"Never. You should always walk around naked." He says, and Rukia laughs.

"Make up your damned mind." She says, and he walks over to kiss her.

"Just so long as you understand that when you do, I won't be able to do anything other than react this way." He murmurs, as he takes her hand and presses it against his arousal. He kisses her again, and she responds excitedly. When they pull away, she smiles up at him.

"That's the way I like you though." She tells him, with a mischievous look in her eyes.

"That's a good thing, because with you around…I'm like this a lot." He tells her, and Rukia nearly giggles.

"I wonder if I can't find you some rabbit themed boxer shorts…" Rukia mutters as she pulls away to look at his boxers, and he turns bright red.

"Don't!" He says, hoping she never finds any such boxers for sale.

"If I do, I'd make you wear them." She warns him, and he shakes his head.

_I know…that's why I don't want you buying them!_

"Like you could convince me to do that…" He says unwisely, and Rukia flashes him the world's most confident smile.

"Oh I could…" She says in a sure voice, and Ichigo gives her a pleading look.

"Don't do that to me!" He says, and Rukia laughs.

_At least he understands that I could get him to wear them! _

"We'll see." Rukia says evasively, before she puts her hands over his tented boxers. He lets out a helpless moan, when she does that, and she leans forward to press a kiss against his muscular chest.

Ichigo hugs her, even as he mentally realizes that she holds a certain power over him that he can't even try to deny.

_I'd do anything for Rukia…even die._

With these romantic thoughts running through his mind, he picks her up in his arms, and carries her over to the bedding that he was finally able to lay out, after their first round a bit earlier.

"This time…I'm going to make love to you." He tells her in a husky voice, and Rukia sighs happily.

"Sounds nice." Rukia tells him as he leans over her. Ichigo stares at her naked body with admiration.

_It makes it much easier that she's already naked…_

"I want to please you…" He tells her against her skin, and he starts attacking her body with kisses.

"You do without even having to try…my whole body reacts to your touch." Rukia admits, and Ichigo stops kissing her to smile at her.

"Good to know." He says, before he starts assaulting her soft skin with more kisses.

Rukia sucks in a breath as he kisses her, making her feel like she can't stop trembling, like she can't get enough of him. Every single touch is so exciting, and she doesn't want it to end.

_My skin is on fire…_

"Ichigo…" Rukia moans, as his lips graze against her breasts.

"Where do you like being kissed best? Tell me Rukia." Ichigo asks, and she starts to blush.

"Everywhere feels nice." She answers in an embarrassed voice, and Ichigo smiles at her.

"Then I'll kiss you everywhere." He replies, and Rukia's eyes widen as he begins to make good on his promise.

He takes his sweet time, but he finally feels like he's kissed her everywhere on her front, so he gives her a wicked grin, as her eyes open to meet his own.

"What?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo winks at her.

"Flip over, so I can finish kissing you everywhere." He tells her, and she is bright red, as she does what he asked.

The kisses he trails down her back, make her entire body tremble visibly, and he can tell she wasn't lying about liking to be kissed everywhere. He pushes her legs apart a bit, as he kisses the insides and backsides of her legs. The little sighs she's making, are driving him to distraction, and so he pushes down his boxers, and pulls out his arousal, to run it along the insides of her folds.

"Oh my god…" Rukia mutters, as she feels the smooth head of his erection pressing against her most sensitive area.

Ichigo moans in agreement with her words, as he slips the head inside of her, and he slowly pushes himself all the way in.

_Why does it feel so damned good to be with her? I feel so high…this feeling!_

He's shocked that his body isn't immediately trying to release, but he's also glad about it. He feels like he can finally keep going for a decent amount of time.

_Is it because I already came a little while ago?_

He stops thinking about that, and concentrates on the feeling of being inside of her.

_So warm…so tight…feels so damned good!_

Rukia's moans slowly but steadily get more and more frantic. He can feel her excitement as he pulls out and pushes back in, but her reactions just make him push harder. He gets it in as deep as he can, and lets out a shaky moan.

"Rukia…" Ichigo mutters excitedly, from how amazing he feels from being inside of her.

Rukia can hear the passion in his voice, and she concentrates on the feeling deep inside of her. She never imagined, before she made love with him the first time, that it would ever feel like this…so completely mind consuming.

The fact that it's not already over, is kind of a surprise for her, since he's never lasted this long before, but it's extra sweet for her. The feelings just keep building up…getting more intense. She begins to feel like she's completely overcome with the feeling, and Ichigo seems to sense it, because he makes an extra effort.

Then, when he feels the insides of her start to tremble, it brings on his own release, and they both feel the waves of a simultaneous orgasm hit them. He crashes against her a moment, before he rolls over off of her, and she turns her face to his.

He kisses her passionately, and gives her a sexy grin.

"There's more where that came from." He says, feeling rather victorious, and Rukia winks at him.

"There had better be." She says, before she goes to take her second shower since they arrived at Sado's apartment.

Once again, Ichigo watches her leave, feeling rather pleased with himself.

_I know for a fact she came that time…I want to do that to her every time!_


	84. As Requested: Bad April Fools

**A/N-I had a request to do this, and even though it's nowhere near April Fools Day, this story centers around it being just that. It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Bad April Fools_

"I have to speak to the Captain Commander!" Ikkaku says loudly, with big regretful eyes.

"What is it?" Lieutenant Sasakibe asks, and Ikkaku shoves him aside.

"It's an emergency!" He says, forcing his way past the lieutenant, and into the First Division offices.

"What is it?!" The Captain Commander bellows, since all of the racket is disturbing his opportunity to have a good rest.

"It's Captain Zaraki! I'm afraid I said something to him that I shouldn't have, as a joke!" Ikkaku says, and the Captain Commander stares at him.

"Well? Tell me the rest." He orders Ikkaku, who sinks to his knees.

"I told him that some paperwork had come in, that allowed him to go to the living world, without sealing his power, to fight Kurosaki Ichigo, as an April Fool's Day prank…" Ikkaku explains, shutting his eyes in anticipation of the Captain Commander's response.

Ikkaku slowly looks up, but the Captain Commander is no longer facing him.

"You did what?!" Lieutenant Sasakibe asks, and Ikkaku bows his head in shame.

"He was gone in an instant. I didn't even have time to tell him it was a joke…" Ikkaku says, in a near whisper.

The Captain Commander doesn't know why he finds the whole story hilarious, but he does.

"Send for Captain Kuchiki." He orders his lieutenant, who rushes to do his bidding.

_In The Living World…_

Zaraki is laughing like a madman as he hunts down Ichigo. He can feel the reiatsu, he just isn't so good at following it. Rukia and Ichigo try to ignore the huge Shinigami reiatsu that has appeared in Karakura Town, but as it draws closer, Ichigo gets more nervous.

"What is Kenpachi doing here?" He asks Rukia, who shrugs.

"I have no idea." She answers, as they walk home after a study group at Sado's apartment.

They would have been home already, but Rukia had dragged him further away from home than what they'd started, so that she could get him to buy her a bar of chocolate.

"It makes me nervous whenever he's nearby." Ichigo says, and Rukia rolls her eyes.

"Why is that? It's not like he's coming to kill you." She says, and he just shivers, even as Zaraki drops down like a bomb in front of them.

Rukia holds her skirt down, to keep it from flying up from the winds his landing produced.

"Ichigo! I'm here to fight you to the death!" Kenpachi says, even as Rukia begins to rub her eyes in disbelief.

_Am I dreaming? He did not just drop down and say he was here to fight Ichigo to the death, right?_

Ichigo's eyes are as wide as hers, and he can't get over his shock.

"Eh?" Ichigo asks, and Kenpachi starts to laugh.

"Change into a Shinigami so we can fight!" Kenpachi orders Ichigo in a roar.

"But I don't want to fight you!" Ichigo says frantically, but Kenpachi just whips out his zanpakutou.

"You don't have a choice!" Kenpachi roars, exuding all of his reiatsu, which forces Rukia to freeze in her position. She couldn't move if she wanted to, at this moment.

Ichigo notices her predicament.

"Damn it!" Ichigo growls, before he pops out of his body and grabs Rukia.

"Don't think you can run away from me!" Kenpachi shouts, and Ichigo turns to glare at him.

"I'm moving Rukia out of the crossfire. Hold your horses!" He yells, and Zaraki just grins.

"Yeah, wouldn't want your girlfriend to get in the way." He says, and Ichigo moves Rukia about fifteen meters away, before he uses his shunpo to flash back in front of Zaraki.

"How are you allowed to do this in the living world?" Rukia screams out frantically, since she's sure that there is a rule about the captains having their power sealed.

Yachiru hops off of Kenpachi's back and runs over to Rukia.

"Ken-chan got special permission to come to the living world without seals to fight with Icchy!" She informs Rukia, who can't believe that no matter how hard she tries.

"That's impossible!" Rukia yells, but Yachiru giggles, as Ichigo whips Zangetsu off of his back and faces Kenpachi…even though he remembers how much pain he was in after his last confrontation with the man.

"You can't stop Ken-chan once he's started." Yachiru says somberly to Rukia, before she waves to Kenpachi, and then Ichigo. "Icchy! It's been nice knowing you!" She calls out, and Ichigo's face turns pale for a moment, even as Kenpachi laughs.

Ichigo has all kinds of thoughts running through his mind, besides fear…

_Does Soul Society want me killed? Is that why they ordered this? Why is this happening?!_

Ichigo is quickly fending off Kenpachi, because if he doesn't, he'll be killed. His mind is distracted though, by those other thoughts, and Rukia notices it.

"Ichigo! Ichigo!" She yells out, even as Yachiru giggles.

"Well Icchy is really no match for Ken-chan this time. He's about to die in a second here, if you have any last words for him." Yachiru says, and Rukia's eyes grow really wide.

She swallows her gikongan in an instant, and Yachiru's eyes nearly pop out of her head, as Rukia uses shunpo to slide in, and protect Ichigo from a hit that would have hit him, in his distracted state.

Kenpachi's power is too much for her zanpakutou to take…he slices right through her zanpakutou, but when he realizes what's happened, he starts to bring his arm back. Not before he puts a shallow cut into Rukia's shoulder though.

"Rukia!" Ichigo's voice sounds so filled with emotion, and he loses all of his distractions, other than the need to protect Rukia, and exact revenge for seeing her blood being spilled.

She falls to the ground from the force of Kenpachi's reiatsu, even though she's not really hurt, but before Kenpachi can chastise her, Ichigo's voice catches their attention.

"Bankai. Tensa Zangetsu." Ichigo says, his voice as icy as the arctic.

Kenpachi is suddenly assaulted in an angry flurry of Ichigo's attacks, before Ichigo releases a Black Getsuga right at Zaraki, effectively moving the man far away from Rukia. The intensity of Ichigo's attacks, compel Kenpachi to remove his eye patch at this point, and in the background, Yachiru can be heard laughing.

"I've been waiting for this! The real fight!" Kenpachi says with a smile, before Ichigo steps forward and slashes at him too quickly for him to defend it.

Within moments, blood is spraying, from all over Kenpachi's body, proof of Ichigo's anger that Kenpachi's zanpakutou ever grazed Rukia's fair skin.

"Ken-chan!" Yachiru starts to grow worried, since it appears her beloved Ken-chan is actually losing.

Byakuya finally makes his presence known, since he has been watching since Rukia got cut, and allowed Ichigo to go a bit nuts on Kenpachi for that particular act, but now it's time to close the curtain. Within a moment, both men are bound, as Byakuya walks forward.

"Captain Zaraki. Your officers were playing an April Fools Day prank on you. You were never given permission to come here and fight Kurosaki Ichigo, and you were certainly never given permission to come here without your power being sealed either." Byakuya informs him, and Kenpachi just groans while Ichigo struggles.

"Byakuya! Let me out of this you bastard!" Ichigo shouts, and Byakuya rolls his eyes.

"Get her to that girl right away, to get her healed." Byakuya orders Ichigo, before he grabs a hold of Kenpachi's bindings to drag him to Unohana for his own healing.

As Byakuya walks through the gates, the bindings around Ichigo disappear, and he runs over, where he sees Rukia's torn robe.

"Rukia…are you okay?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia nods.

"I think so." She says, and he gives her an intense stare.

"I'm sorry…you shouldn't have had to interfere." He says, and Rukia shakes her head.

"I'm sure it won't be the last time. So long as you're still living, it was worth it." She tells him, and his eyes soften as he stares at her.

"No…what's important is that you're still living." He says in a firm voice, before he gives her a soft smile, and lifts her into his arms.

_That will always be what's most important to me, Rukia._


	85. As Requested: Rukia's Egg 4

**A/N- ****This is dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Rukia's Egg 4_

Ichigo regrets asking for his father's assistance, in how to ask Rukia to marry him, in a way she can't refuse.

_He went way over the top…_

Not only did his father smilingly give him a large loan, to get Rukia a beautiful engagement ring, he also paid out the ass to help Ichigo in his proposal.

_Flashback_

"Kaito deserves to have two parents who are always madly in love. I want Rukia-chan to tell Kaito this story when he gets older, with a happy smile on her face. She deserves that." Isshin had said, and his words had echoed in Ichigo's head, quite a bit.

_End Flashback_

"Yeah…she does deserve that." Ichigo mutters out loud.

_This was why I allowed him to go all out, but now I think it might just be too much…I bet everyone in school will be talking about this…_

Ichigo sighs. Rukia is getting ready to go out with him now. Isshin is staying home with Kaito, and by the time they return home, they should be engaged.

"If she says no…" Ichigo mutters nervously, even as he gulps.

_I shouldn't have antagonized her…what if she really does say no!? What will I do then?_

"I finished packing your picnic basket! There is a blanket in there too." Yuzu says, as she hands it to her brother, who smiles gratefully at her.

"Thanks a lot, Yuzu. You don't know how much I appreciate it." Ichigo says, and Yuzu smiles hugely.

"I think I do." She says with a wink. Ichigo blushes.

"Your delicious food will definitely help." Ichigo says, and Yuzu winks at him.

"She can never say no to you." Yuzu says, and Ichigo blushes harder.

_I hope not…_

"Well then, everything should go well." Ichigo murmurs, and Yuzu nods her head in agreement,

"Oh it will, you'll see." She says it with so much confidence, that it actually makes Ichigo feel a lot better.

Ichigo walks over to the bassinet. His son isn't quite a month old from the day he hatched, and he's sleeping.

_I can't believe how much I love him…more than I even dreamed was possible. Rukia too…_

Then she walks into view. In a violet and blue sundress, looking absolutely stunning.

"Damn Rukia…" Ichigo says, as he stares at her, up and down. Rukia blushes.

"I take it you like it?" She asks, and Ichigo just nods his head wordlessly.

"Oh I more than like it…" He says, as his eyes turn a bit lusty. Rukia lets out a nervous laugh, and Ichigo's hand tightens around the picnic basket, as he wonders how in the hell he's supposed to keep his hands off of her in public, when she's looking so damned fine. She walks over, and bends down to give Kaito a kiss goodbye.

"Mommy and Daddy are going out for a bit. You're going to stay here with O-ji-sama, and we'll be home later." She whispers to their son without waking him, before she straightens up.

"You ready?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia nods.

"I've always wanted to have a picnic with you…" Rukia says quietly, and Ichigo grins.

"Well today, you get your wish." He tells her, before he grabs her hand, with his free one, and leads her to the front door.

"I can't wait." Rukia says, and Ichigo smirks.

"We're leaving!" Ichigo yells, as he opens the door, and drags her outside with him.

Rukia can't stop smiling. Ichigo is acting like this is such an important date, and she can't help but wonder if he plans on proposing, before the day ends.

_I hope so…I'm tired of waiting for him to ask me._

The walk doesn't take nearly as long as she would have liked it to, since walking around hand in hand with Ichigo, is one of her favorite hobbies. When they find a spot to sit, Ichigo opens the basket, and pulls out the thin blanket that Yuzu packed on top for them.

Ichigo's mind is on the proposal plan. He has to make sure Rukia doesn't miss what his father planned. He's sure he won't since there are other people in the park who are sure to react to it as well.

_In about a half hour, it will happen…_

Rukia's eyes widen at the contents of the basket. There are so many choices, and she suddenly feels like she's starved. She licks her lips in anticipation of eating, and Ichigo pulls out some juice boxes.

He makes sure he doesn't do anything to aggravate her while she eats. His father had been very specific, in telling him to make sure it's a date she can dream about forever. He keeps a close eye on the time, and when it's nearly time, he concentrates very closely on the sounds around him.

"I'm stuffed…that was so good! We should definitely do this again!" She says, as she sips from a juice box.

"Yeah." Ichigo says, and Rukia looks up into the sky.

"I can't wait to do this with Kaito when he gets older." Rukia whispers, and Ichigo grins.

"I'm sure that will be fun." He says, and Rukia nods, feeling utterly content.

Then he hears it. He glances at her face, and she's still staring up, which is good. He waits for her to notice it. He knows, the moment she does, because she gasps loudly.

Then he smoothly moves to be on one knee, while he stares at her. He pulls the small box out of his pocket, and opens it, to present her with the engagement ring he bought with the loan his father had given to him.

"Will you?" He asks, but Rukia is still staring at the plane, which has a huge proposal banner trailing after it.

_Rukia, will you marry me? Ichigo._

"Wow…" Rukia says, quite impressed, and then she sees Ichigo on one knee, so she jumps to her feet, and takes two steps over to him, before she presses a big fat kiss against his lips.

"Does that mean you'll marry me then?" He asks, as a sweat drop falls down his forehead, and Rukia smiles hugely at him.

"You expected an answer other than yes?" She asks him with a smirk, and his eyes widen.

"I never know what to expect from you." Ichigo says honestly.

"Of course I'll marry you!" Rukia says with a smile, and Ichigo grabs her hand.

Rukia finally notices the ring, she'd been too awed by the plane, and by Ichigo being on one knee, to focus on that before now, but her eyes are wide as she stares at what's in the box.

_He really went all out, didn't he?_

The round diamond is quite large, in her estimation. It has a moderately thick silver band, and Ichigo grins.

"I have our names engraved on the underside." He says, showing her the ring, before he slips it onto her finger.

"It's magnificent." Rukia breathes, as the ring is slid into place.

"Just like you." Ichigo says, as he leans down to kiss her.

He's doing his best, to ignore the other people at the park, who are staring at the newly engaged couple, with fascination and curiosity. It seems everyone has realized that she is Rukia, and he is Ichigo. Then he hears a younger girl start to laugh.

"Ichigo is a girl's name!" She squeals loudly, and Ichigo pulls away from Rukia to glare in the direction the voice came from.

"Come on." Ichigo says, as he quickly starts to gather up all of their things.

"Aw, so cute! You're embarrassed!" Rukia says, laughing openly at him. He tries not to scowl.

"There's only one of us that is cute in this relationship, and it's not me." He tells her firmly, and Rukia blushes.

They quickly leave the park, and head for home, and Rukia is practically floating on air, as she walks home holding her fiancé's hand. She simply cannot stop smiling.

_And one day very soon, he'll be my husband!_


	86. As Requested: Into His Mind

**A/N- I had a request to do a story where Rukia is transported into Ichigo's inner world, and has to help him battle his inner hollow. I had to think awhile, on how to make that happen, but here it is…please enjoy!**

_Into His Mind_

Rukia's eyes widen in horror, because even though Ichigo killed Aizen, he took a brutal blow in the process.

She runs over, to where he's landed on his back with a pained expression on his face. She stares down at him in worry, even as his eyes start to take on a gold colored hue.

Ichigo is still present though, and now he's scared, because he can hear his inner hollow taunting him…

_Didn't I tell you King? That if you ever got weak, I'd crush your skull? The time has come…you are not fit to rule this body._

Ichigo is so freaked out. Rukia is with him, and he finds strength in her presence…but it's not enough at the moment.

With all of his will, Ichigo wishes to do something to save himself…to save Rukia. Plenty of Shinigami are down and injured, from attempting to fight Aizen, so thankfully, everyone isn't gathered around him.

Those who want to cheer, at Aizen's death do not think of even doing so, since so many comrades are injured, and killed. It's eerily quiet, considering Soul Society's greatest foe has been eliminated from existence.

Rukia's eyes widen, as Zangetsu materializes from Ichigo's zanpakutou. Rukia stares up at the figure of his zanpakutou, with large eyes.

"You're coming with me." Zangetsu says, before he wraps Rukia up in his arms, and heads for Ichigo's inner world.

He moved so quickly that she never had a chance to respond. Instead, she is given her first glimpse ever, of Ichigo's inner world. She can hardly stop being shocked at how completely different it is from her own inner world.

When they land on the top of a building, Rukia finally gets to see Ichigo's hollow on, laying on his side, with a huge smirk on his face.

"_Well looky here! It's Rukia-chan_!" His hollow states, as he slowly gets to his feet, his eyes staying on her, the whole way.

Rukia suddenly realized that Zangetsu is vanishing into thin air, and that makes her nervous, but then Ichigo lands next to her. He stares at her in shock, since he cannot believe she's in his inner world with him. He also notices that his hollow has another white Zangetsu…

_She probably thinks this scene is all fucked up…_

"Rukia…" Ichigo mutters, before his attention is drawn by his own inner hollow.

"_Yo! King_!" His hollow shouts, as he grins at the pair.

"You…" Ichigo mutters angrily, as he stares at his hollow.

"_The time has come. Ichigo…you are so pathetically weak, I am amazed you were even able to win that fight. Unfortunately, you used too much of your effort in doing so. You're weak and I'm strong. So I'll take over your body, and I'll take that cute little Rukia-chan from you too_!" He announces, but before Ichigo can react, Rukia is already responding.

"You presume far too much, hollow!" Rukia growls, as she draws Sode No Shirayuki from her sheath, and she glares with determination at him.

Hollow Ichigo looks at her for a second, before smirking at Ichigo again.

"_I can see why you're so into her_…" He says, as he licks his lips, and Ichigo turns bright red in mortification. Rukia chooses to ignore his hollow's last comment, and Ichigo is very grateful that she does, since now isn't the time to discuss his feelings for her.

"You cannot take me, I will not allow it." Rukia informs him, in a cold but loud voice.

"_I said take, didn't I? I will take you, and there won't be a damned thing that you can do to stop me! I know your power…and I'm stronger_." Hollow Ichigo informs her, with a wicked laugh.

"What makes you think you know my power?" Rukia asks with a raised eyebrow, since she has never used all of her powers in front of Ichigo, or his hollow.

"_I know_…" Hollow Ichigo says with a snicker.

"I won my battle! I deserve the right to keep my body!" Ichigo says, as Rukia's eyes flash angrily. "And you can't have Rukia either!" Ichigo finishes up in a much more strong voice, which causes his hollow to raise an eyebrow.

"_I've already told you that you're easy to figure out, haven't I, King_?" He taunts, and Ichigo scowls.

"I'm prepared to fight you for the right to keep my body." Ichigo announces, and Rukia nods her head firmly.

"And he'll have help." She warns his hollow.

His response is to laugh. Then he disappears, and Ichigo's zanpakutou is out in a flash.

"Dance! Sode No Shirayuki!" Rukia chants, as Ichigo crosses zanpakutous with his hollow.

Hollow Ichigo and Ichigo are in a power struggle, as both tries to get the upper hand. Ichigo's hollow glances over at her with a smirk.

"_Don't you know? I'm much more powerful than Aizen. You cannot defeat me_." He warns her, and Rukia seethes at the fact that he's underestimated her.

"You don't scare me." Rukia hisses, as her eyes flash, and his hollow looks back at Ichigo.

"_She's braver than you, King! You're scared, aren't you? I can feel it so clearly_." He says, and Ichigo growls.

"Shut up!" He snaps, as they both pull back and their blades clash together again, as they both push to gain some ground.

Rukia observes for a minute, trying to figure out what his hollow's weak point is.

_Every hollow has a weak point! What is his?!_

She can't attack recklessly…she can feel his reiatsu, and she's gained a lot of fighting experience. She has to fight smart, not necessarily hard.

"_Getsuga…Tenshou_." Hollow Ichigo says, in a controlled way, as Ichigo's eyes widen.

Rukia jumps back when she hears his chant, and her eyes widen in shock as Ichigo takes the attack full on…he flies back into a building, and Hollow Ichigo laughs.

"First Dance…White Moon." Rukia chants, and Hollow Ichigo just smiles wickedly at her, as her shikai forms around him.

Hollow Ichigo busts apart her ice with his reiatsu, the moment it's formed around him, and then he laughs.

"_Rukia-chan…your ice is so weak! You might be just as useless as the King, but you're cute so I'll forgive you for it_." He tells her, not taking her seriously at all.

Rukia sneers at him, even as she bristles in anger from his insult.

"I don't think much of you either." She tells him, and he puts a hand mockingly to his heart.

"_Now that hurts, Rukia-chan. Are you trying to break my heart_?" He asks her, sounding sarcastic as hell.

"Hollows don't have hearts." Rukia says immediately, even as Hollow Ichigo lets out a loud chuckle.

"_I share the King's heart_." He informs her, and Rukia's eyes widen.

She stares at him silently for a moment, trying to figure out whether or not he just lied to her.

_No he can't possibly! Can he?_

Ichigo comes flying back out frantically to continue fighting. He's more than relieved that his hollow hasn't attacked Rukia while he was picking himself up from that last attack.

"Bastard!" Ichigo growls, before he holds his zanpakutou out.

Hollow Ichigo laughs like a maniac as he mimics Ichigo's actions. For Ichigo, it's reminiscent of the last time they fought together. His hollow had gone bankai at the same time as him.

"Ichigo…" Rukia's whisper isn't heard by either of the other fighters, but she searches her heart for the strength, to fight on a much higher level than she has ever forced herself to fight at in the past.

"Bankai!" Ichigo chants, and his hollow does the same. Rukia looks back and forth between them, trying to figure out a way to help Ichigo, keep control over his annoying inner hollow.

She watches them fly at one another, at top speed, both swinging their zanpakutous at such speeds that she can't even keep track of the movement.

_A way to help! How can I help!? Ichigo!_

She knows instinctively that a binding spell would be pointless, since she's quite certain his hollow has enough reiatsu to overcome any bindings she attaches to him. She can hear the clashing of their blades, as they both attack at top speed. She's still looking for an opening, or opportunity to help out. She forces herself to be patient, as she waits for an opening.

Ichigo doesn't want to see his inner hollow hurt Rukia, but his hollow doesn't seem to be overly interested in trying to hurt her. He's more concerned with being the king, and making Ichigo the horse.

Rukia gets more and more worried, with each moment that passes. They're still swinging their zanpakutous at a very high rate of speed, to fast for her to keep up with, but then Ichigo reaches through and punches his inner hollow.

His hollow takes it smiling, before he returns the favor, and then they start flashing in and out of Rukia's view as they move at unparalleled speeds within his inner world.

_Am I really useless to Ichigo? Can't I find a way to help him?_

Rukia frowns. It has been so long since she's had doubts about her own abilities. It makes her feel fifty years younger, and not in a good way.

Then blood starts to fall from the sky, as they fly at each other, over and over again. Some lands on Rukia, and she knows immediately that it's Ichigo's blood, not his hollow's.

The anger that builds within her, isn't something she can understand herself, but she's tired of being Ichigo's sidekick, she is his partner.

"Come on Sode No Shirayuki. We're going to go and save Ichigo." Rukia whispers, to her zanpakutou.

She closes her eyes for a split second before she looks up and for looks for the tiniest opening to insert herself into the fight for real. His hollow's laugh is distracting, but Rukia tries not to think too much about that.

When Ichigo takes another Getsuga Tenshou from his hollow, he flies backwards. His hollow stops moving to laugh, and Rukia is all over it.

Hollow Ichigo openly laughs as the tiny Shinigami flies at him…and compared to how quickly he and Ichigo were moving, she appears to be in slow motion. Even if her eyes look determined as hell, he knows he can stop her before her zanpakutou ever touches his skin, but then she surprises him. At the last moment, she slides to another angle, which he simply had not anticipated. Not that it matters.

Hollow Ichigo laughs as she attempts to cut into him, but her zanpakutou doesn't even draw a drop of blood. He spins around, and cuts her zanpakutou in half with one swipe.

"_I expected you to come at me head on. I'll give you credit for not running away in fear, but you don't have a hope in hell of defeating me_." He says, feeling like he's stating the obvious.

Rukia's eyes relight with determination, and Hollow Ichigo scoffs.

"There's always hope." Rukia whispers, as her eyes begin to glow, which gets his attention.

Ichigo is getting up, when he realizes that Rukia has confronted his hollow again. He's scared as hell for her safety, as he gets to his feet, and he wonders how she was even able to make it into his inner world in the first place.

Then he feels Rukia's anger, which has him jump into the air, to get a closer look. His hollow is laughing at her…

"_If you would just learn your place, you and I could get along real well, Rukia-chan_." His hollow is saying, and Ichigo feels real anger…his hollow really does have some sort of desire for Rukia, and that is even more disturbing than the idea of his hollow having the aspiration to take over his own body.

Ichigo flies back in, with all of his anger adding to his reiatsu, and the moment Hollow Ichigo looks away from Rukia to glance in Ichigo's direction, she quickly holds up her zanpakutou.

"Third Dance…White Blade." Rukia chants, and his hollow doesn't even look at her, since he doesn't take her seriously, but this ability of hers, bypasses his armor of reiatsu.

Ichigo flies in, and pierces his hollow in the stomach, before he digs it in…then he realizes his hollow is already done for.

"Rukia!" Ichigo whispers in shock, even as his hollow gives her a look of appreciation, and then he looks back at Ichigo.

"_You really are an idiot King_…" He just laughs as his body starts disappearing for a second time, but once again he has parting words for Ichigo.

"What?!" Ichigo demands in a hiss.

"_Don't think because you've won this round that the war is over. This body and that woman will one day be mine_." He says, as he licks his lips and smirks.

When his body disappears completely, Ichigo lets out a huge sigh of relief, before he looks at Rukia with amazement.

"I can hardly believe you took care of him so effectively…" Ichigo breathes, and Rukia finds a smile.

"It's because he didn't take me seriously." She whispers, and Ichigo starts to blush.

"How am I supposed to get you out of my inner world?" He asks her, but Zangetsu appears behind them.

"Ichigo." Zangetsu says, and they both turn to look at him.

"Old man!" Ichigo exclaims, and Zangetsu nods his head at them both.

"You can take her out the same way I brought her in. Hold her in your arms, and then will yourself out of here like you always do." He tells Ichigo, who turns even redder at being told to hold Rukia in his arms.

_On the Outside…_

Inoue has made her way to Ichigo's body, which is badly injured and battered from his battle with Aizen. She quickly works to bring him to a completely healed state. She manages it fairly easily. Since she's done, and he's still knocked out, she decides to stare at his face. The face that haunts her dreams.

Inoue's eyes nearly pop out of her head, as Kuchiki-san materializes in Kurosaki-kun's arms. Their eyes are open, but they don't notice her. Instead, they embrace one another tightly.

"Thank you, Rukia. I can always count on you." Ichigo tells Rukia, and she hugs him back.

"Of course you can, idiot!" She agrees, and Ichigo smiles.

"Now that this mess with Aizen is over…I'd like to concentrate on you and me." He tells her softly, and Rukia gasps as she pulls away.

"Us?" She asks, and he nods.

"Because there has always been something there." He tells her, as he stares into her beautiful deep blue eyes.

Rukia just stares at him a moment, before she concedes with a small nod of her head.

Ichigo responds with a kiss, and Inoue just gawks.

_I knew it! Kurosaki-kun always has loved her, and he'll probably never stop._

Inoue stands and runs, which gains the couple's attention.

"Inoue?" Rukia says in confusion, but Ichigo pulls her attention away from their friend.

"Forget about her." He says, as he pulls her back in for another kiss.

_I finally have what I've always wanted…Rukia in my arms, and her lips against mine._


	87. As Requested: Immortal Isshin 8

_**A/N- This chapter is dedicated to the ones that requested it, please enjoy!**_

_Immortal Isshin 8_

Isshin isn't at all surprised, when his brother shows up to see the new babies, and Takeshi disappears via shunpo, the moment he realizes Zaraki came by. Karin and Toushirou are out, and he imagines the next time he sees her, she'll be sporting an engagement ring.

When Yachiru and Kenpachi enter the Kurosaki Manor, Yachiru's face falls when she realizes Takeshi isn't there. All she's been able to think about, is that kiss that they shared, before Ken-chan came and interrupted.

Rukia and Ichigo both walk into view, each holding a baby in their arms, and Yachiru runs over.

"Can I hold one of them?!" She asks excitedly, since she hasn't gotten to hold either of the babies, since right after they were born a two days ago.

"Sure. You can hold Taiki." Rukia says, as she passes her dark haired baby boy over to Yachiru.

"Where is Take-chan?" Yachiru asks, as she smiles hugely for the baby. Rukia grins.

"He was here a little while ago…" She says, and Kenpachi scoffs.

"He ran away from me again, didn't he? What does he think I'm going to do to him?" Kenpachi asks, and Ichigo starts to chuckle, as he hands over Keiko to Kenpachi, for him to hold.

"Kill him, probably." Ichigo says, understanding his son's feelings wholeheartedly. Yachiru walks into the kitchen with the baby, since she doesn't want to even think about Ken-chan killing her beloved Take-chan.

"I'm not that scary…" Kenpachi says, while Ichigo snorts. Kenpachi glares at that rude gesture. Isshin walks in the room before anymore words can be exchanged though.

"Kenpachi, would you be alright with it, if my grandson and Yachiru were married?" Isshin asks, and Kenpachi's eyes widen.

"Why are you asking me?" He asks, and Isshin sighs.

"I want to arrange their marriage." Isshin explains, and Kenpachi gawks for a second at his brother, before he responds.

"I don't own Yachiru, you know. She is the only one who can agree to an arranged marriage. I never did understand why everyone thought I was her father." Kenpachi remarks, and Isshin raises an eyebrow.

"You act like a father, around her." Isshin points out, and Kenpachi looks terribly confused.

"How so?" He asks, and Isshin is suddenly stumped, but only for a second.

"When I first saw the two of you together in Soul Society, she was perched on your back like she was your child." Isshin says slowly, and Kenpachi raises an eyebrow.

"So?" He asks, and Isshin tries to find another argument.

"You're always together." Isshin says next, and Kenpachi rolls his eyes.

"It's true that Yachiru became my companion, a long time ago, but only because she wasn't afraid of me, and she wasn't affected by my reiatsu." Kenpachi starts to say, and Isshin is perplexed by that.

"You do know how strange that is, right? You are powerful, because you are of royal blood. Your reiatsu is of royal quality, and she should be affected by it. I am curious about her lineage." Isshin says softly, but then he remembers a story his mother told him a long time ago, when he was a young boy.

There used to be two royal families, but one wasn't quite as powerful as the other one. Isshin's great-great grandfather, ended up killing the head of the other royal family, and in the process, the man's wife had run off with her only child.

Isshin's great-great grandfather had sent assassins after them, to wipe them out completely, since they had been secretly plotting to try and overthrow the more powerful family from the seat of power.

The other royal family had been more powerful than any of the nobility in Soul Society, yet they couldn't even hold a flame to the one holding the most power. Isshin's lineage is filled with proud kings who were all supremely proud of their power, because they were overflowing with it.

The woman and her child were never found, and had been assumed to be dead. Isshin had never thought twice about that old story, until now.

Isshin remembers asking his mother why the child had to die, and she had kissed him and whispered in his ear.

It's only natural that the lineage would end, after plotting to kill the Spirit King. It's the worst act of treason anyone can commit, trying to kill their leader. Even if they don't like who he is.

Isshin had never agreed, and had always wanted to make sure that when he had kids, he wouldn't let them grow up being arrogant over their power. They were going to appreciate it, and have a bit of compassion. He had always kept such thoughts secret from his parents though.

His father had died cursing Isshin for not taking a noble wife, and starting a family. Isshin had been shocked the powerful old man could actually die. It was his will to die though. Isshin's mother died trying to give birth to her third child. Isshin's father lost the will to live, once his mother died, and before Isshin knew it, he was in charge…

Isshin wonders if Yachiru is related to that other royal lineage. He thought they'd died off centuries ago, but Yachiru's amazing ability to withstand Kenpachi's reiatsu suggests that the line did continue, in secret.

_Even though she cannot withstand mine, when I release it, the fact that she can be so calm and relaxed in Kenpachi's reiatsu makes it hard not to wonder_.

"When I met Yachiru, she was really small, and I never asked her about her past before that, because I assumed her past was as lonely as mine. At least, that's what I felt. I knew that if I walked away from her, she would probably be killed. I found her in one of the worst areas in Rukongai. I was astonished that she could smile, and act so unaffected in my presence. It was in that moment I gave her a name, and decided I would no longer be alone. And I won't. She is my lieutenant." Kenpachi says, and Isshin simply nods.

"So you really don't know her past, before she met you." Isshin says thoughtfully, and Kenpachi nods.

"You'd have to ask her. She never told me of her own free will, and I never asked." Kenpachi says, but Rukia is staring at her father-in-law, because after all of these years knowing him, she knows something is in the wind.

Ichigo sees the look Rukia is giving his father, and he decides to interject.

"Shouldn't it be my job to arrange his marriage?" Ichigo asks his father, and Isshin laughs nervously.

"Normally it would be a father's right, but I only have Takeshi's best interests at heart!" Isshin says, but Ichigo shakes his head.

"Takeshi's circumstances are different from mine. I didn't know I was royalty, which is why I never pushed the issue of marriage with Rukia." Ichigo says, and Isshin glares at Ichigo.

"What are you trying to say?" He asks, and Ichigo crosses his arms.

"Nobody but Takeshi can arrange his own marriage. I won't interfere with my son like that, I'm not you." Ichigo says testily, and Isshin growls at that.

"But that's how it works!" Isshin says loudly, and Ichigo snorts.

"Your marriage to mom wasn't arranged by anybody other than you, and Takeshi's marriage won't be arranged by anybody other than him." Ichigo says firmly, and Isshin crosses his arms, as he glares at his son.

"It would make him happy!" Isshin argues, since he wants to arrange Takeshi's and Yachiru's marriage.

"Is there something you're not telling us?" Ichigo asks, since he can tell that Rukia is dying to ask that very question herself.

Isshin sighs, and then he offers everyone a smile.

"We should all sit for this story." He says, and everyone heads into the dining room to sit and talk. Yachiru seems to have disappeared with the baby, but Rukia and Ichigo aren't concerned, since they know she would never do anything to hurt the baby.

When Isshin finishes his tale, about what his mother told him as a child, Rukia is the first to make the connection.

"So you believe Yachiru is the descendant of that family?" She asks, and Isshin starts to nod.

"It did cross my mind." He admits, and Ichigo raises an eyebrow.

_Even when I first met her, I thought there was something special about her._

"Well, all I want to know, is whether or not Kenpachi would be accepting of such a marriage." Ichigo says, as his eyes shoot to Kenpachi, and the huge captain just scoffs.

"I don't control Yachiru. As long as he treats her right, he has nothing to worry about from me." Zaraki says, and Ichigo's eyes widen. Zaraki crosses his arms. "All captains are protective of their lieutenants, not just the ones that are married." He adds, and Ichigo just nods.

_That's sort of true. Captain Kyouraku is protective of Lieutenant Ise._

"Takeshi will be happy to hear it. He knows to treat her right, since he's been watching his father treat me right for so many years." Rukia says confidently, and Ichigo smiles at his wife.

"I guess it would be odd for us to try and arrange a marriage for her, by asking her. We'll do it your way Ichigo, and let Takeshi handle it." Isshin concedes, and Ichigo just gives his father an annoyed look.

"I'd planned on it." He says, and Isshin sighs.

"You're so headstrong. Most people wouldn't even think about questioning my orders." He says, until he hears Masaki clear her throat in the doorway.

"What was that, dear? Can you repeat that a little bit louder?" She asks, and Isshin turns red.

"Masaki! We should go out for a walk!" He says as he jumps up to lead his wife out before she shows everyone where Ichigo got his truly stubborn streak from. He really doesn't know how he managed to keep it a secret this long.

_Masaki is a good wife…she allows me to maintain my image, so long as I don't insult her in the process._

He links his arm through Masaki's to get to work on kissing her ass.

_Later…_

When Kenpachi leaves, Yachiru decides to stick around, since she's sure she'll get to see Take-chan if she does that. She spent the majority of her time thus far in the nursery with Taiki, but she can sense Takeshi approaching within five minutes of Ken-chan's departure.

When Takeshi walks in the house, Ichigo quickly pulls him aside, and Rukia smiles since she's holding Keiko, and Yachiru waits impatiently for Takeshi to come talk to her. He has to, after they shared such a wondrous kiss before the twins were born.

Ichigo gives his son a serious look, and talks quietly so that his wife and Yachiru don't hear him.

"Kenpachi isn't going to attack you. You don't have to worry anymore." Ichigo tells Takeshi, who immediately blushes.

"It was that obvious?" Takeshi whispers, and Ichigo looks horrified that his son would ask such a naïve question.

"Sorry." Ichigo says, and Takeshi looks down.

"Dad…I think I love her…how do you know for sure that it's the one?" Takeshi whispers, and Ichigo grins at him.

"I realized your mom was the one when I thought I might never see her again, when she got in trouble for giving me her powers." Ichigo tells him, and Takeshi nods.

"Thanks." He tells his father, before he heads over to see Yachiru, who is passing the baby back to Rukia.

"Take-chan!" She says excitedly, and Ichigo grins as they head outside for a walk.

He doesn't try to kiss her this time, instead he just enjoys her cheerful company. He doesn't want to push her, since she is older than him. He thinks that maybe she should make some sort of move, if she loves him.

They hang out for a half hour, before Yachiru leaves to go crash. Takeshi goes to his room to think.

_Meanwhile…_

Karin's eyes widen as Toushirou drops to one knee and presents her with a giant diamond engagement band with two rubies on either side of the diamond.

"Will you marry me?" He asks, with his face a bright shade of red, matching the rubies quite well.

"Yes…I will definitely marry you!" Karin says, before she throws herself in his arms.

It takes him five minutes to get the ring on her finger because she hugs him so tightly and won't let go. He doesn't really mind it though, because Karin isn't usually emotional. It means a lot to him.

_Meanwhile…_

Kaori walks in the room, and grins when he sees his mother holding Keiko, and he takes the baby from her.

"Nariaki, Kukiko and Takara are with Taiki, I'm going to go and put Keiko in her bassinet." He tells her, and Rukia smiles gratefully at him.

"Thanks, Kaori." She says, and he smiles brightly at her. After hearing her screams while going through labor, he has new perspective on his mother. He just wants to help her out.

"No problem. We all love our new baby brother and sister." He whispers, and Rukia smiles with pride.

Ichigo walks over to Rukia, as she watches her son leave with her youngest daughter.

"We have such wonderful kids Ichigo. I love having a family so much! Having a family with you, is a dream come true." Rukia says, and Ichigo pulls her into his arms.

"It's because we share such a great love. Want me to take you upstairs, and rub your back?" He asks, since he knows her body is still sore from giving birth.

"That sounds perfect!" Rukia exclaims, as she grabs his hand and pulls him forward.

Ichigo suddenly lets go of her hand, and gives her an apologetic look.

"I'll be in there in a minute, go ahead without me. I want to check on Takeshi." He says, since he felt his son come back inside.

"Okay." Rukia agrees, and Ichigo knocks on Takeshi's door.

"What?" Takeshi calls out, and Ichigo opens the door to the boys room. Takeshi is the only one there.

"Everything okay?" Ichigo asks, and Takeshi blushes a bit, before he looks away.

"I'm glad I talked to you earlier. I've thought about it, and I do believe that she is the one. One thing worries me though." Takeshi says, and Ichigo raises an eyebrow.

"What's that?" He asks, and Takeshi blushes.

"If I ever married her…would she be allowed to live here with me?" He asks, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

Never once has he imagined that his son might fly from the nest. He imagined that he'd be as close as he is to his son now, forever.

"No matter what happens, I wouldn't want you living anywhere else. This is your home, and it will always be your home. The same goes for your brothers and sisters." Ichigo says firmly, and Takeshi smiles.

Father and son meet eyes directly, and Takeshi gives his father a genuine smile.

"Thanks Dad." He says, and Ichigo grins back.

"I'm going to go rub your mother's back. Good night." Ichigo says, and his son waves.

"Good night, Dad." He says, and Ichigo jogs to his master suite where he and Rukia sleep. It's in a different wing from the kids, to offer them a modicum of privacy.

When he walks in his room, Rukia is naked from the waist up, and Ichigo jumps on the bed and straddles her, since she's laying on her stomach. It's too soon for them to continue what they'd been doing when she'd started going into labor, but he imagines when it will be alright again, and how he's going to make it up to her.

Rukia moans from her husband's hands running soothingly up and down her back.

_Life really doesn't get any better than this._


	88. As Requested: Immortal Isshin 9

**A/N-The way the requests fell, Immortal Isshin gets another chapter! This is dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Immortal Isshin 9_

The ceremony is about to start, and the Kurosaki family members fill up the entire first row. Karin is about to get married to Toushirou and Takeshi is marrying Yachiru at the same time. Ichigo sits with Rukia on one side, and his baby girl is in his arms, while their baby boy is in her arms. Their other kids are on Rukia's other side, and Isshin was sitting with Masaki and Yuzu on the opposite end of the row.

"It doesn't feel like it's been that long since our wedding." Ichigo tells Rukia as the babies fuss in their laps.

"I know…time sure has gone by fast since we arrived in Soul Society. I can hardly believe we've been together as long as we've been! It still feels so new." Rukia whispers, and Ichigo gives his wife a loving look.

They've both had their share of admirers belonging to the opposite sex, and he believes that has partially been the reason that he always works so hard to see his wife happy.

"The youngest of our quintuplets is the first to tie the knot of all of my children…unbelievable." Ichigo mutters, feeling suddenly like he's very old.

"At least not much will change, besides him and Yachiru taking a room of their own. At least they're staying with us." Rukia says, and Ichigo nods in agreement.

The idea of his kids moving out bothers him. He wants them to stick around until his own unfortunate demise.

"I'm surprised Karin agreed to a double wedding." Ichigo says, and Rukia laughs.

"I'm not. She's never really liked being the center of attention, and this way Yachiru gets to share some of the glory. I think Takeshi has always been close to Karin too." Rukia says, and Ichigo nods.

_It's true, he's always loved everyone in the family. Karin and he have always been close too._

"You know, because of Yuzu's nature, I always imagined she would get married before Karin, but she hasn't even shown any interest in anybody." Ichigo says, and Rukia keeps her lips zipped.

She has always noticed that Yuzu had a special soft spot for one of the captains, but she is too shy to ever come onto him, and that particular captain has never noticed her adoring looks.

He may be much, much older than Yuzu, but Rukia is sure if they ever do hook up, he'll treat her with more kindness and compassion than any man her own age would ever treat her.

Yuzu has no idea that Rukia has figured it out, she thinks it's her own little secret, and Rukia has not revealed that she knows. She is the only one who has figured it out though, since she's sure Ichigo's father would have already made a huge deal about it if he knew.

_I really think it could work…they would probably be a perfect match, and be completely compatible._

Rukia wonders if she should do anything to help from time to time, but she always decides to stay out of it. If for some reason anything went wrong, she wouldn't want everyone to be upset with her.

Then the signal comes, that it's time to start, and the couples appear one after another, Karin and Toushirou walk in front of Takeshi and Yachiru.

Ichigo watches carefully, and once again, he's confused about when the marriage actually takes place. After messing around with a branch, they're married.

"You know, weddings in the living world are much nicer…" Ichigo comments to his wife, who suddenly looks interested.

"Is this your way of saying you'd like to renew our vows? We can do it in the living world if it's really as nice as you just made it sound." She says, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

That hadn't exactly been his intention, but he can't say that when his wife's eyes are shining like beautiful sapphires…

"Of course we can renew our vows…I wonder if our kids can all be allowed to come too. I'll have to put in for the rest of the division to do menial work while we're gone." Ichigo says, and Rukia just nods, as Isshin glares over at the two for not cheering on Ichigo's sister and son.

"Karin and Takeshi both are married." Ichigo says, and Rukia nods.

"Our son fell for a woman much older than himself. I don't know how many times in my lifetime I'll say this, but he's just like you." Rukia says, as she stands to congratulate the two happily married couples.

"Well, a strong man needs a strong woman to stand behind him. I think Takeshi just followed my lead and made sure he picked a woman who could kick him into shape whenever the situation requires it." He says, and Rukia smirks.

"I always knew you loved it when I kicked your ass into shape. You even get turned on." Rukia says, and Isshin snorts since he was listening in.

"Shut up!" Ichigo says, turning a bit red.

_She's way too loud!_

"Ah, don't worry about it too much Ichigo, your mother does the same with me. It's part of being a Kurosaki!" Isshin says, smiling hugely while Ichigo growls.

"Don't compare me to you, crazy old man." Ichigo's words make Isshin frown.

"Denial." Isshin says, with a firm nod, while his son rolls his eyes.

"You're a psychological mess! I am not anything like you!" Ichigo says, and Urahara hears him. He rolls his eyes and smile.

_Father and son are exactly alike…in all of the generations._

"Well everyone seems so happy for this occasion, and it is a happy one! Two members of royalty getting married at the same time! It's a once in a lifetime occurrence!" Kisuke practically sings.

Rukia's eyes are on Yuzu, who thinks nobody is watching her as she eyes the captain she most fancies.

_I wonder if anything will ever happen there. If so, both of Ichigo's sisters will have married a man much older than themselves, just like Ichigo fell for me, and I'm so much older than him._

Rukia grins as she watches Yuzu tear her gaze forcefully off of the captain, to keep from being noticed by her own father, who suddenly looks over at her to see her smiling at her sister and new husband. Rukia is impressed with the girl's timing. She looked away before her father's eyes landed on her.

_She's a sharp one, she really is!_

Rukia figures that if Yuzu goes to those kinds of lengths, that she'd prefer her feelings stay private. She also can't help but to be glad that she hasn't tried sticking her nose in, sooner.

"It's time for dancing!" Masaki exclaims, and Isshin smiles handsomely at his wife.

"I plan to sweep you off of your feet, since you're the love of my life." He tells her gallantly, and Masaki laughs.

"I want to dance too, Ichigo." Rukia says, and Ichigo sighs as he nods his head. He's a much more capable dancer now than what he was when they got married.

"I don't know why…but weddings always make me want to strip you of all your clothes, and make hot love to you." Ichigo whispers against her ear, and Rukia smiles.

"Wedding or no wedding you're like that." She whispers back, and he smiles.

"You're right about that." He says, as the crowd slowly makes their way behind the married couples, to go to the reception hall.

A collective sigh goes up among the unmarried Shinigami when Takeshi lifts Yachiru in his arms, to carry her to the reception, but Karin gives Toushirou a firm glare to let him know he'd better not try that crap with her.

Toushirou ignores her look and scoops her up anyways. He whispers to her so that nobody else hears.

"You're my bride, let me treat you like it." He tells her, and Karin finds that she likes being carried far more than she thought she might.

Sado claps Ichigo on the shoulder.

"So he's married. You must be proud." He says, and Ichigo nods.

"I am. He and Yachiru are deeply in love. I couldn't be happier for him." Ichigo says in a low voice.

"It looks like he followed your example." He says, just before Inoue comes up behind him.

"What a beautiful wedding! Was it like this for the two of you as well?" She asks, and Ichigo nods.

"But I asked Rukia if she'd like to experience a living world wedding, so we're going to renew our vows there." He says, and Sado grins, while Inoue looks green with envy. She's never gotten over loving him.

"It's great that you two are still so in love, after all of these years." Sado comments, and Rukia smiles.

"We don't have the kind of love that would ever die." She says confidently, and Sado nods.

"I know." He says, and Rukia grins at him.

_Of course you know. You've been one of our biggest supporters, for the longest time!_

"Can I hold him?" Sado asks Rukia, and she smiles.

"Of course." Rukia smiles as she passes Taiki over to him, and he smiles as he holds his best friend's newest son.

"It's been nice being like an honorary uncle, but I think I'd like to have children myself. I think it's time I consider looking for a wife." He says, and Rukia chuckles.

"You say that every time you're around our children." She comments, and Sado nods.

"Except that finding a love like the one the two of you share is really hard. I hope you know how lucky you are." He says, and Rukia nods solemnly.

"We are lucky. And you're going to find that happiness too! Why not start tonight? Are there any cute girls you want to dance with?" She asks, and Sado turns a bit red.

"I'll let you know." He says, and Ichigo laughs.

"As long as it's not one of my daughters, I support you completely." He says, and Sado gasps.

"I would never hook up with one of your daughters! They're like family to me!" He says, and Ichigo grins. He already knew that.

"I think you and Hinamori Momo would get along great." Rukia says slowly, and Ichigo's mouth gapes open.

"Her?!" Ichigo says, not understanding his wife's pick for Sado, but his friend is blushing.

He has noticed on many occasions how cute Hinamori Momo is.

"I wouldn't mind if you managed to get her to dance with me." He admits, and Ichigo nearly falls over, which forces Rukia to take Keiko from him, before he drops her beautiful baby girl.

"Inoue, do you want to hold her?" Rukia asks, and Inoue nods her head quickly.

_I've become so adept at noticing feelings…and I know there's nobody who interests her, besides my husband…_

"She's so cute!" Inoue says, as she coos at Keiko.

_At The Reception…_

Rukia and Ichigo hold hands as Karin dances with Toushirou, and Takeshi dances with Yachiru. Rukia remembers their own first dance, for their wedding reception.

Takeshi stares deep into Yachiru's eyes, and she smiles up at him.

"Thank you for agreeing to marry me." He tells her, and she laughs.

"Take-chan…I wouldn't have said yes to anyone else." She tells him, and he smiles happily at her.

"I'm glad." He whispers, and she rests her head on his shoulder.

Karin is dancing with Toushirou, and her head is spinning from the romance of it all.

"Remember the first time we danced?" He asks her, and Karin blushes. She had laid him out, and run away…and then he'd come to ask her for a dance as he'd asked for a truce.

"It was at my brother's wedding." Karin whispers, and Toushirou smiles at her, with a spark in his eyes.

"Yeah." He says with a nostalgic smile.

"I was still living back then…and you were a hell of a lot shorter, even though you don't look older than eighteen, by the standards of the living world." she comments, and he looks a bit sheepish.

"I'm taller than you." He points out, and Karin laughs.

"But it wasn't always that way." She says with a raised eyebrow, and he lets out a defeated sigh.

"Maybe I should be grateful you ever fell in love with me…" He mutters, and Karin laughs.

"Yes, be very thankful. That attitude will do you well." She assures him, and Toushirou grins.

"What would you think about me talking to your brother about letting you be my lieutenant?" He asks, and Karin's eyes widen.

"Do you think he'd allow it?" She asks, and Toushirou smiles.

"I'm confident he'll understand, since he expected the same understanding from Captain Kuchiki when he made the captain's sister his lieutenant. I think he'll be agreeable." He says, and Karin smiles.

_To finally get out of the Fifth Division, and be one of the top officers?! To have the same ranking as Yachiru-chan and Rukia-chan? Sounds like a dream come true!_

"I definitely want that." Karin says firmly, and Toushirou smiles as other couples start to join in on the dancing.

Ichigo and Rukia smile, as they dance in each other's arms, but the biggest shock of the night for Rukia, is when she sees Yuzu dancing with the man she fancies, and they actually complement each other in looks.

_Good luck, Yuzu! I think you and Captain Ukitake would be a dream match!_

"What are you thinking?" Ichigo asks suddenly, when a suspicious look crosses his wife's face.

"Just imagining us renewing our vows, my horny strawberry. Now shut up and dance." She orders him, as she shuts her eyes, and once again enjoys the feeling of having the most perfect life possible.

_I can't wait to marry you again, Ichigo!_


	89. As Requested: Baby Shoes 3

**A/N-I had a request to do this, please enjoy!**

_Baby Shoes 3_

When Rukia and Ichigo return from their date late in the afternoon, and open the front door, they're suddenly bombarded with yells.

"Surprise!" Comes the collective yell from all sorts of people they weren't expecting to see.

Yuzu jumps out into view, and then Rukia notices the huge banner hanging from the ceiling.

_Surprise Baby Shower_

"Ichigo…what's happening here? They can't shower my baby, it hasn't even been born yet!" She tells him anxiously under her breath, and he begins to chuckle.

"They're going to shower our future child with gifts. You should be more grateful." He informs her, and Rukia's eyes widen as she stares at all of the familiar faces around the room.

"Really?" Rukia asks with a smile, and Ichigo nods.

"It's because you're due soon." He whispers quietly against her ear, and Rukia gently touches her swollen belly.

"I see. Thank you, everyone!" Rukia says, reverting back to the comfort of her fake schoolgirl voice, the one that always makes her husband scowl.

"We have refreshments, activities, presents, and cake, Rukia-chan! We also have this!" Yuzu says with a big smile, holding a large bowl of money.

"What's that?" Ichigo asks curiously, and Yuzu grins at her brother.

"Pay a hundred yen to guess the weight of the baby! When the baby is born, the winner gets half, and the other half goes to the two of you!" Yuzu says, and Rukia blushes.

_The jar is full of money!_

"We actually had a bunch of people who weren't a part of the shower that made bets, and contributed to the pot." Karin adds, as she pops around her sister.

Rukia suddenly notices that the sonogram pictures are hanging up in the family room with a small colorful banner.

_First Pictures_

"I can't believe you went to so much trouble." Rukia whispers, and Yuzu beams.

"This is my future niece or nephew! I was happy to plan this for you!" She exclaims energetically, as Rukia looks at all of the decorations, and the presents on the floor. They make a huge stack.

Rukia starts to move through and thank everybody for coming. Even her sensei is there, and she was responsible for getting most of the girls in class to attend.

When Rukia makes her way to Inoue, she gives her friend a big hug, and Inoue trembles as the hug results in her feeling Rukia's and Ichigo's future offspring kick quite hard. She feels it right in her belly.

"Oh my gosh, I felt that!" Inoue exclaims as Rukia pulls away and blushes furiously. She quickly puts her hand to her swollen belly and smiles happily as she feels the continued kicking.

"I can tell this baby will have Ichigo's disposition. It's so energetic!" Rukia comments, and that's when several girls walk over to feel the sensation.

Inoue touches her own abdomen, where she first felt the kick through Kurosaki-san's pregnant belly.

_Is this some kind of cruel trick, god? That was not the way I wanted to feel Kurosaki-kun's future child kicking against my own belly!_

"Wow! I can feel it!" Tatsuki exclaims with big eyes, and Rukia just nods her head.

"It won't stop…it always continues like this for long periods of time, once it starts. I think this kid is ready to be born already, as much as it moves around. Even the doctors are surprised at the level of activity inside of me. Definitely Ichigo's influence." Rukia says, getting a loud laugh out of Tatsuki.

"Sounds like it!" Tatsuki exclaims, highly amused by what she's just heard.

Rukia then notices the baby shoes that Ichigo bought for her, back when she revealed she was pregnant. They're hanging in the doorway by a little hook, and she suddenly feels very happy.

Between the food, the friends, the games, and the presents, everyone is in a joyous celebratory mood except for one.

Inoue stares on, wishing it were all hers, while knowing it never will be. She stares at Rukia in envy, even as she concedes that the small woman only looks more beautiful while pregnant. It's not fair that pregnancy suits her so well. Her husband can't take his eyes off of his wife.

Inoue feels the tears start to form in her eyes, as this petite Shinigami is living out her greatest fantasy.

_Being married to Kurosaki-kun, and being pregnant with him…does she know how lucky she is? How much I would give to be living that life? I wonder if she even appreciates all that she has…_

Rukia clears her throat, and everyone quiets down as she places her hand on Ichigo's arm.

"I want to thank all of you for making a beautiful thing even more wonderful. Ichigo and I have found an amazing happiness, and my only hope is that each and every one of you find the same kind of happiness we share. I feel like the luckiest woman in the world…" Rukia says, and Ichigo grins at his wife adoringly.

"No Rukia, I'm the lucky one. There's not another girl like you in this world, and I wouldn't have ever fallen in love with anyone else." He says, and the women all sigh at that.

Yuzu beams at her brother and his wife before she calls out to them from across the room.

"Your baby is going to be so lucky!" She announces, and Ichigo pulls Rukia in for a hug.

Rukia feels tears of happiness spilling down her cheek as her husband presses her face into his chest.

There's not one person in the room that can't feel the love the two of them share.

_A beautiful, and unshakable love…that's how it should be._


	90. As Requested: Potty Training

**A/N-This is a request I had, and in this one, Ichigo and Rukia are already married. They also already have a cute little son, named Ichirou. Please enjoy!**

_Potty Training_

Ichigo has bought every book imaginable so that Rukia can learn about parenting in the living world, but she hasn't even looked at one of them. She prefers to just ask her husband about everything she doesn't know, and if he doesn't have an answer immediately for her, she expects him to find the answer.

They haven't done too shabby, Rukia has given him a beautiful son, with hair and eyes like hers, but the boy has his smile, and the same attachment for his mother that he himself had as a young child, for his own mother.

_At least the books haven't gone completely to waste, I've read them._

Parenting is a wonderful yet terrifying thing. To be completely responsible for another human being, who is incapable of surviving on their own, is a humbling feeling to say the least.

His favorite part of having Ichirou though, is watching him interact with his mother. Whenever the two are together, Ichigo feels content beyond belief. They are way too adorable together, and his son has the same ability his wife has…Ichigo is wrapped around both their fingers.

Sure he is a parent, and he lays down the law from time to time, but he can only ever stay adamant when it's about little Ichirou's safety. Other than that, the vocal two year old is spoiled beyond belief.

The time has come to start potty training his son, and he's been reading up on the books, since he's sure Rukia hasn't even noticed that it's about the age where they're supposed to start. Sometimes she's too oblivious for her own good.

He always wakes up early with his son, and lets Rukia sleep in, since she tends to stay up later in the night. It's actually quite nice, spending every morning with Ichirou, getting in that important quality father and son time before he becomes completely attached to his mother when she appears, as is his habit.

This morning is no different, at first. Ichigo gets up to spend quality time with his son, but today he has an agenda.

"Guess what buddy? Today we're going to start with potty training!" Ichigo announces in an excited voice, hoping his excitement will rub off on the little tike.

"Potty training?" Ichirou echoes with great interest as he stares up at his father, and Ichigo grins.

"You're getting to be a big boy now, so I think it's time." Ichigo says,

"Why am I a big boy?" Ichirou demands, almost angrily, and Ichigo has to force himself not to laugh at the indignant look on his son's face.

"Because you're not a baby anymore," Ichigo explains, and his son looks more pissed about that fact than Ichigo could have expected.

"I'm the baby!" He says, and Ichigo wonders what approach is the best to take, since his son is responding to the positive of getting older, and wants to maintain his title of the baby.

"Being a baby is no fun. Being a big boy is really fun." Ichigo says, trying to coax his son into responding better to the big boy argument.

"I'm the baby!" His son screams quite adamantly, and Ichigo swiftly covers his son's mouth.

"You're going to wake your mother." Ichigo says, glancing behind him, and Ichirou smiles.

"Mommy calls me her baby." Ichirou informs his father, and Ichigo rolls his eyes.

"Isn't she helpful…" Ichigo mutters sarcastically.

It takes him two whole hours to convince his son that potty training will be fun. He only manages it because he informs his son that there will be treats involved when he gets it right, namely candy.

That gets his son's attention, and he's suddenly no longer interested in arguing about whether or not he's a baby. The candy has him on the same page as his father.

Of course Rukia has to walk down the stairs, right after Ichigo gets Ichirou all worked up over the reward system, and his son tears over into her arms as he spots her.

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommmmyyyyy!" Rukia can hardly ignore her son when he's being so adamant, and so she looks down at him with a soft look on her face.

"What is it, Sweets?" She asks, and Ichirou smiles proudly at her.

"Potty training!" He announces excitedly, and Rukia notices her little son is so excited he can barely contain himself.

"Potty training?" Rukia asks, and then she glances up at Ichigo, with a confused expression on her face, and Ichigo shoots her a warning look.

_Do not ask what that is in front of him!_

Rukia reads the look clearly. He's given it to her many times since she's known him. She finds it difficult to believe that there are still so many things that she is completely ignorant about in regards to the living world.

"Yeah!" Ichirou is jumping around like a tiny monkey in excitement of this so called potty training.

"I told him we were starting potty training today." Ichigo explains, and Rukia nods her head slowly.

"I think I'd like to learn along with him then." Rukia says, and Ichigo's mouth falls to the floor.

_You're already potty trained! How in the hell am I supposed to teach you too?_

"Yeah! Me and Mommy!" Ichirou cheers, and Ichigo makes the mistake of looking down at his son, rather than keeping his focus on his wife.

Rukia nearly laughs at the expression on her husband's face. He looks like he wants to argue, but can't. She looks down and sees her son laying it on thick. Puppy dog eyes, hands clasped together, and an adorable smile on his cherub face.

"Uh….okay…" Ichigo gives in, since he cannot say no to that adorable little face.

"Yay!" Ichirou cheers and he turns to latch onto his mother's leg.

"I can't wait! When do we start?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo shakes his head in disbelief.

_I'm quite certain that I am the only man ever to be in this type of ridiculous situation…_

"Uh…no better time than now." Ichigo says awkwardly, as he directs his son to the bathroom, where a brand new training toilet is waiting. Rukia looks quite intrigued by the mini toilet, and Ichigo takes a deep breath.

"Instead of going in your diapers, when you feel like you have to go, you're going to come and go in here." Ichigo says, pointing at the toilet. He lifts the little lid, and pulls his son away from Rukia. "You have to pull down your pants, and your diaper, and go in here." Ichigo says, and his son nods solemnly, before he looks at his mother, who is nodding and smiling.

"I see! So humans start out on these mini toilets!" Rukia exclaims, and Ichigo shakes his head at her, before he speaks to his son again.

"And when you go in here like you're supposed to, you will get your reward!" Ichigo explains, and his son starts to nearly screech in excitement.

"Candy!" Ichirou squeals, and even Rukia starts jumping up and down with her son. Ichigo shakes his head again, at the silly duo.

"Wow Ichirou, you're so lucky!" She tells him, and he looks up at her solemnly.

"I will share my candy with you." Ichirou says magnanimously, and Ichigo nearly melts at the scene.

"That's because you're my wonderful little man." Rukia whispers, before she leans down to kiss and hug her little man.

Ichigo steps forward and pulls them both into his arms.

_Who knew I'd love having a family with Rukia, this much?_


	91. As Requested: Sorry, Thank You 2

**A/N- I had a request to continue from Sorry, Thank You, and include the IchiRuki confession, while a certain someone watches on. Please enjoy!**

_Sorry, Thank You 2_

Ichigo can't get it out of his head. The way it felt when Rukia hugged him, not to mention the snug and perfect way it felt to have her there.

_I want to feel that again…I don't want her in anyone's arms other than my own…_

Ichigo recalls even now, how he felt when he watched Renji run away with Rukia in Soul Society, after he tossed Rukia to the man. While he felt relief that Rukia was getting away…his gut clenched at the sight of it.

It had been unavoidable. Just like the last hollow attack. He had no way of knowing the hollow they were confronting had the ability to reflect attacks. His carelessness caused Rukia to be hurt.

_But I'm not psychic._

She walks back in the room, but she doesn't look at him. She can feel his eyes on her the whole way to the bed though.

"Are you really okay, Rukia?" Ichigo asks in a quiet voice, and Rukia smiles at that.

"Of course I am, it's nothing for you to worry about." She says, in a low even voice, and he can't take his eyes off of her.

He also can't help but to notice that she hasn't looked directly at him, since re-entering the room. He wonders what he'd see in her expressive blue eyes if she did look at him right now.

_Would I see her wanting me as much as I want her?_

It's not about sex…not that he'd turn his nose up at that, it's about feeling her in his arms, feeling her as physically as he does emotionally.

_Can I ever really have that?_

Ichigo shakes his head. He knows one thing for certain. He knows he can never have it, if he never does anything about it. He could end up an old man by the time Rukia gets around to sharing her feelings…

He's so involved with staring at her that he doesn't hear the knock at the front door. Rukia doesn't hear it either, because she's concentrating on the feeling that she's getting from him watching her so intently.

She hears his footsteps getting closer, and her heart starts to thud. Her entire body has been aching, since they stopped hugging earlier. All she's wanted to do, is to go back in time to that moment, and stay there.

_In his arms…no place has ever felt better._

It's as though he's reading her thoughts, because he sits down next to her, and wraps his arms snugly around her. Rukia's breath catches in her throat, and her eyes widen at this unexpected gesture.

"Ichigo…" Rukia says, and he sucks in a large breath of air.

"I always want to be able to hold you like this…" Ichigo mutters into her ear, and Rukia blinks a few times.

"You do?" She asks in wonder, and neither of them realize that a hand has pushed his bedroom door slightly ajar, or that this other person is listening to their exchange.

"I can get through anything Rukia, if I know I can always come back to your arms. I keep you more dear in my heart than anyone else." He says, feeling his throat tighten up, at the tiniest doubt that maybe she doesn't feel the same way.

"I hope you mean that." Rukia says, as he tightens his grip around her, and she snakes her arms around him as well.

"I've never meant anything more in my life." He assures her, and Rukia is shocked by the weight of his words. She knows better than anyone, how many times his heart had been in what he was doing, so his words mean a great deal to her.

_I never realized before how much I wanted to hear him talk like this to me! I always want him to be like this!_

"If you're going to say things like that to me…I can't help but think our future is optimistic." Rukia says, and Ichigo feels himself smiling in response to her words.

Neither one of them notice the door push open further, because they're both far too focused on one another.

Ichigo pulls back and looks deep into her eyes. He can see she's just as into the staring as he is, and he leans forward instinctively. When his lips press against her own, Rukia closes her eyes, and lets herself get lost in Ichigo being this close to her.

_His kiss…Ichigo…_

Ichigo deepens the kiss, and he doesn't want to pull away…he can't…

Then they hear someone make a sound like a sob, and they jerk apart from one another. Ichigo dashes for the door, and flings it open.

Rukia and Ichigo both gasp in shock when they see Inoue with tear filled eyes, looking back at them.

"I…I talked to Tatsuki-chan, and she said Kuchiki-san was hurt. I hurried over here to see if I could help." She explains, and the couple turn bright red.

"Oh." Ichigo says, not really certain what to say next.

_Somehow I don't think she'd react to it too well if I told her to beat it…telling her to take a hike would probably have the same effect. Why is she crying, anyways?_

Rukia realizes precisely why Inoue is crying, and she lets out a long sigh as she meets Inoue's stare and holds it. She's not about to give up Ichigo…no way, no how.

_Never._

"S-Sorry I interrupted!" Inoue says in a choked up voice before she turns on her heel and flies down the hall. They hear her run down the stairs, and out of the house.

Rukia looks out, and watches Inoue run as fast as she can away from the Kurosaki residence.

"What was with her? I'll never understand her." Ichigo says, scratching his head, and feeling a bit pissed that his special moment with Rukia was ruined.

She sits back on the bed and stares at him. When he finally looks back at her, he blushes when he sees her watching him so intently. Her eyes look so inviting, and he wonders if he can't have a kiss that doesn't end with someone spying on them.

Rukia's cheeks turn a bit pink as he returns to her side, and gives her the same intense stare he was giving her before Inoue appeared.

Rukia holds her breath a second, as his head lowers purposefully towards her, and his lips crash against her own for the second time. This time, they enjoy a long romantic kiss with no interruptions, and nobody spying.

_I've spent my whole life searching for this happiness. Thank you, Ichigo._


	92. As Requested: The Right Girl

**A/N-I had a request to do an IchiRuki story where Rukia and Karin also connect. Please enjoy!**

_The Right Girl_

When Ichigo gets held after school by the teacher, Rukia decides to walk home without him. Waiting around for him would only mean some nosy person questioning her about her relationship with him, which she has had to dodge several times already since he's come into her life.

_What exactly is our relationship? I feel something special for him, that I don't feel for any other man, and I'm certain that he feels something special for me, that he doesn't feel for any other woman. But what are we to each other precisely?_

Rukia sighs as she walks along.

_It's a mystery._

Suddenly Rukia realizes that a bunch of girls are behind her, and she really doesn't feel like hanging out with them. She ducks off behind a tree, and then leaps up into the branches, nearly completely hidden.

When the girls come up to the tree, they're quite obviously looking for Rukia, but none of them spot her up in the tree. Rukia breathes a sigh of relief.

_Seems I dodged another interrogation._

When the girls are out of sight, Rukia hops down, and continues towards Ichigo's house. Then, while she's out walking, she suddenly spots Karin sulking.

Rukia walks all the way up to where Karin is sitting, before Ichigo's sister notices her.

"Rukia-chan?" Karin says, as she realizes who is standing in front of her.

"Is something a matter? If you need to talk, you can always talk to me." Rukia tells her, and Karin takes a deep breath.

"I am on the soccer team with the boys, but I wasn't chosen as a starter…even though I'm better than all of the guys who are starting!" Karin says, and she sounds truly upset.

"Really? Why do you suppose that is?" Rukia asks, and Karin scowls.

"The coach has made several comments to me about how girls should be interested in girl activities. He's so old fashioned, and I hate it!" Karin says, and Rukia raises an eyebrow.

"He's still at the school, right?" Rukia asks, and Karin shrugs.

"How should I know?" She asks, and Rukia nods her head.

"Lets go talk to him." Rukia suggests, and Karin grudgingly nods her head.

She's a bit ashamed that she's accepting someone else's help and not handling it on her own, but if it gets her a starting position on the team then it's worth it. Ichigo spots them from a distance, and follows behind them.

The girls walk together to Karin's school, with Karin shooting Rukia quite a few curious but questioning glances.

_She knows how to get her way with Ichi-ni…can she do the same with my coach? _

Karin only has faith in Rukia's abilities because the girl's presence has even changed her brother. He just adores this petite and strange woman, who seemed to fall out of the sky like an angel.

They walk out to the field, and indeed the coach is out there, chatting with a female teacher. He's a bit overweight, with dark hair, dark eyes, and glasses.

"That's him." Karin says, pointing at the man and Rukia chuckles.

"This may be easier than I thought." Rukia says, eyeing the scene, and taking it for exactly as it is. The man is interested in the woman, Rukia can tell because Ichigo looks at her in the exact same way. She marches ahead, right up to the man, and clears her throat.

"Excuse me," Rukia says, and the man glares at her, at first, until he realizes that she's not one of his students.

"How may I help you?" He asks her, and Rukia puts a hand on Karin's shoulder. Ichigo hurries to get in hearing distance, but stoops down behind a parked car to observe what in the hell is going on.

"I want to know why you're being sexist, and not allowing this amazing girl to play soccer?! She can outplay all of the boys starting, and I want an explanation! Don't you respect women?" Rukia asks, suddenly thankful for the League of Women Shinigami that she belongs to in soul society.

Ichigo shakes his head. He can also feel Rukia's ire from his hiding spot.

Rukia glares down the coach.

_Sexist men is one thing I am not ignorant about!_

"Excuse me?" The coach asks, suddenly feeling cornered.

"I heard! I heard that you've said things along the lines of girls should do girly activities! What in the hell kind of talk is that!? Men like you piss me off!" Rukia says, and the coach gawks as the woman he was so interested glares at him with her hands on her hips.

"She's absolutely right! Girls can be good at sports, just like boys!" The woman says, and the coach holds up his hands.

"Whoa, ladies! I am innocent! The starting players are the very best-" He starts to say, but Rukia is very angry now. She is well aware that Karin is a talented athlete, and she believes the girl when she says she's better than the starters.

"Prove it." Rukia says, practically hissing.

"Prove it?! How am I supposed to do that?!" He asks, throwing his hands up into the air.

"Easy. I'll come to soccer practice tomorrow and you can prove the merits of the starting players over Kurosaki Karin." Rukia says, and the teacher with him nods.

"I have heard she's an exceptional athlete from last year's physical education teacher. I'm shocked that she's not starting. Last year's teacher used to say she was the most amazing athlete of all of his students!" The woman says, and the coach feels like a jackass.

_Kurosaki Karin is easily good enough to be the starter…but she's a girl! _

"It wouldn't be fair to the other students already notified, if I pulled one now. Besides, who said she wouldn't play? She's my secret finishing weapon!" The coach says, trying to ease his way out of his dilemma.

The lady teacher who had been so helpful gets a call on her cell phone, and walks away, while the coach growls at both Rukia and Karin. Ichigo is still shaking his head.

_This guy doesn't know what he's in for…_

"What?" Rukia asks, interested to see what the coach will say now that his love interest is gone.

"Look. You need to face a few facts. No matter how capable or strong a woman is, she will always be inferior to a man." The coach says, and Rukia gasps before she decks him in the gut, and leaves him doubled over.

"I knew she wasn't lying." Rukia says in a hard voice as she glares at the man. He glares back.

"That's another thing you women do. You just hit men, because you think they're never going to hit you back. One of these days you'll run into a guy that will hit you back." He warns her, and Rukia scowls.

She's not exactly happy that the image flashes through her head of when Ichigo nailed her in the back, the first time she ever entered his room. Ichigo also scowls from his hiding spot.

_He's playing with fire now, Rukia is not typical girl._

"I'm not afraid of a man hitting back." Rukia informs him in an icy voice, and the coach scoffs.

"Easy for you to say. Fortunately for you, I don't hit women." He announces, even though he can't straighten up for the life of him.

_How does such a small woman pack such a powerful punch?!_

"You've got that backwards, slow one. It's fortunate for you and your own safety that you don't engage me in battle. I may get so angry that I use too much strength, and accidentally kill you." Rukia says, making Karin's eyes go wide.

The teacher he was interested in, doesn't notice their continuing argument, and she heads back into the building, still talking on her cell phone.

Karin's hand is to her mouth, and she starts to wonder just how far Rukia-chan will go, to get her way.

_She really is amazing! No wonder Ichi-ni is so crazy about her…I see it so easily now._

"Kill me?! You're less than half my size!" He says, stating the obvious, and Rukia glares at him.

"So you're afraid of a girl half your size? Pathetic." Rukia scoffs, and the coach growls.

"I'm only afraid that if I hit you with even half my power, I'll kill you because you look more fragile than a porcelain doll!" He says, and Rukia's eyes flash angrily.

She's in his face so fast, with her fist rapping not so gently against his cheek. He stares wide eyed, into her angry sea of blue eyes, as she corrects him.

"What makes you think you can even land a hit on me?" Rukia asks softly, and the coach suddenly feels a bit annoyed with her high and mighty attitude.

"Rukia-chan…" Karin mutters, as the teacher reaches back to swing at her, but true to her word, Rukia-chan doesn't allow the hit to land.

Ichigo doesn't even need to move. He already feels a tiny bit sorry for the coach.

_Poor guy never even saw it coming…but he deserved it._

Karin squawks as Rukia whips her coach's ass like a ten cent whore on her birthday. Ichigo just mutters from his hiding spot.

"She still has no concept of proper etiquette in the living world." He grumbles, as he peeks up at Rukia kicking ass. In less than five seconds, she leaves the coach crumpled on the ground and trembling in pain.

"There may be a man in this world that is superior to me, but you are definitely not that man." Rukia informs the twitching teacher.

"Rukia-chan! You went way too far!" Karin exclaims as she stares at the scene with wide eyes.

_But I'll never forget this awesome scene for as long as I live!_

"Really, you think so? Why didn't you stop me?" Rukia asks calmly, and Karin gawks at her.

"You could be stopped?" She asks, and that gets a chuckle out of Rukia.

"Will this cause trouble for you?" Rukia asks, and Karin just moves her toe around in a circle on the ground. Ichigo steps out of his hiding place.

"Of course it will cause her trouble! Karin, head home, and don't worry." Ichigo says, and Rukia blushes.

"Ichigo!" The Shinigami of his dreams exclaims, and he shakes his head at her.

"How are you going to take care of this?" Karin asks suspiciously, and Ichigo gives her a confident smile.

"Trust me." He says, and Karin nods reluctantly before she heads for home.

_I wonder if I'll actually get to start in a game._

Ichigo waits until his sister is out of earshot, and he gives Rukia a look.

"What?" Rukia asks innocently, and he rolls his eyes.

"Don't what me, you need to modify his memory so that it doesn't make trouble for Karin!" He tells her, and Rukia nods her head as she starts digging through her bag.

"Maybe I went a bit overboard…but he deserved it!" Rukia says defensively, and Ichigo just nods slowly at her.

"I won't argue with you there." He admits, and Rukia smiles.

He watches as she modifies the man's memory, and then they slowly head home together.

"Thanks for being on my side." Rukia says, glancing up at him, and he gives her a hint of a grin.

"I'm always on your side." He tells her, but he doesn't expect her to grab his hand and hold it.

"I know, but it's nice to hear it." She says, and Ichigo turns red but he squeezes her hand.

Karin waits by the front door for Ichigo and Rukia to return, and when they do, she pulls Rukia aside. Ichigo listens while pretending not to.

"Thanks a lot for standing up for me today." Karin says, looking at the object of her brother's affection. Rukia winks back at her.

"Anytime." Rukia says softly, and Ichigo stares at Rukia with adoration.

_Rukia really is the right girl for me._


	93. As Requested: After Camping

**A/N-I had a request to continue the Camping Trip story, but it ended with them waking up on the day that they had to leave, so it will continue, it will just be well after the camping trip, when they're back in school. It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_After Camping_

It had aggravated Ichigo to no end when he'd come home and seen his father grinning hugely. It was like he somehow knew that his son had helped Rukia get undressed and into her pajamas.

Of course, Rukia exacerbated the problem when she smiled innocently up at his father and asked if she could start sleeping in the sleeping bag every night.

Ichigo shakes his head as he remembers it. His father's smile had grown even wider than usual, and Rukia had been too damned thrilled at his agreement that she failed to see that his father had indecent thoughts in his head.

Then… _that_ happened.

His eyes soften as he remembers it, instead of walking over to the closet, Rukia came and climbed into his bed without even asking permission. It was like she already knew he'd never kick her out.

_In her sleep she shows her feelings…_

Ichigo looks forward to every night when she lets her guard down, and sleeps in his bed. She loses all of the toughness in her brow, and she grabs for him, holds him…drives him nearly insane from wanting her.

By day, she's the same Rukia she's always been. She's tough, amazing, serious, and so obviously strong. At night she becomes as docile as a sleeping kitten. She looks so beautiful with her face fully relaxed, with no sign of her getting ready to punch him in the gut, and she mutters under her breath too.

He's already decided that she is whispering how much she loves him, since he can't imagine her dreaming about anything else. Not with the way she clings to him in her sleep.

He happily shares his bed with her, and in the night their hands roam each other's bodies, but they distance themselves much more during the day. Part of him is happy for that, but part of him is sad about that.

_It leaves me wanting more…I can't wait until it's time to go to bed again, so I can hold her._

Ichigo closes his eyes, and naps until dinnertime.

_The Next Day…_

The morning had to start out completely weird, because Rukia woke up to his arousal pressing hard into her belly as he held her tight against his body. It startled her…because she didn't expect to wake up feeling that, but then he kissed her in his sleep and muttered her name.

Rukia managed to squirm away from him, and when she did, he seemed to try and grab her back, but she darted out of his reach, though she only barely moved quickly enough.

When Ichigo woke up, Rukia had already left for school, and he's a bit annoyed by that. He hurries to get dressed and leave. He walks out without any breakfast, which upsets Yuzu, but he wants to go and find out why Rukia took off without him.

Even if they don't hold hands or anything, they usually spend most of their time together, and he hopes she isn't avoiding him. He only gets two minutes into his walk when he's stopped.

"Ichigo!" Tatsuki yells, and Ichigo turns around.

"Morning, Tatsuki." Ichigo says, and Tatsuki grins at him.

"I heard about you sleeping with Kuchiki-san." Tatsuki says, and she laughs as her friend turns bright red.

"Who told you that?" He asks, and Tatsuki laughs again.

"Orihime. She told me about the camping trip." Tatsuki explains, and Ichigo slowly nods his head.

"Nothing happened." Ichigo says quickly, not wanting rumors to circulate. Tatsuki looks at him sympathetically.

"Too bad…because everyone thinks something did happen." Tatsuki says, and Ichigo turns completely white.

"What did you say?" He asks, and Tatsuki nods her head.

"Yeah, don't blame Orihime, sometimes she blurts things out without meaning to." Tatsuki says, and Ichigo groans.

"Maybe I should skip school." Ichigo grumbles, and Tatsuki laughs.

"You'll leave Kuchiki-san to deal with it on her own?" Tatsuki asks, and Ichigo has to force himself not to smile.

"She can handle it." Ichigo says, and Tatsuki looks doubtful.

"You're not really going to skip are you?" Tatsuki asks, and Ichigo sighs.

"No. But I want to." He says, and she laughs.

"Good luck." Tatsuki tells him, and his shoulders droop.

"Thanks." He says, before he hurries ahead of her.

All kinds of thoughts run through his head as he hurries to school.

_Has Rukia heard that everyone knows yet? Has anyone said anything to her? What would she say if confronted about that? Would she smile with her fake schoolgirl voice and confirm that she and I slept together?!_

When he gets into the classroom, he meets Rukia's eyes, and then she turns bright red. He thinks it's because she's realized everyone knows that they slept together, but it's really because she remembers how she woke up to feel his arousal pressing against her, and how she hasn't been able to forget that moment

_It was scary and exciting at the same time._

She quickly looks away, and Ichigo gets more nervous as the class fills up. Right when Ichigo thinks he's made it home free to the start of class, Keigo comes running in.

"Ichigo! I heard you slept with Kuchiki-san!" He says, and everyone stops what they're doing to look at Ichigo or Rukia for their reactions.

Ichigo turns red, but Rukia immediately digs in her bag and pulls out her memory modifying device.

Ichigo gawks as the entire room is filled with pink smoke, and they get through the rest of the day with no questions from their classmates. Rukia does have to use the device a few more times though, at the end of the day.

He works hard on his homework all night long, wondering if she'll still come into his bed.

When she does, he feels immensely relieved. He likes the way she cuddles close to him, and her breathing steadies out. He's sure she's asleep already.

"I love you Rukia." Ichigo whispers, before he prepares to fall asleep. He nearly jumps out of his skin when she responds.

"I love you too." She says softly, and Ichigo pulls her up against him.

"You're awake?" Ichigo asks, feeling a bit mortified that their confession went like that, and so smoothly without him intending it to be.

"Always have, always will." Rukia says, and Ichigo leans down to kiss her.

_That's exactly how I feel about you…my wish finally came true._


	94. As Requested: Tall & Short

_**A/N-I had a request to do this story, and I hope you all enjoy it! It's dedicated to the person that requested it!**_

_Tall & Short_

"Kuchiki-san, you seem a bit disturbed." Urahara says, and Rukia nearly jumps out of her skin as she turns around.

She had been staring at the lake, not anticipating anybody coming up on her, so she doesn't have a fib prepared to tell anyone. She decides to simply be truthful.

"Ichigo has been making fun of me a lot lately…keeps calling me names like pipsqueak, dwarf, munchkin, etcetera. It's really begun to get on my nerves." Rukia admits, and Urahara starts to smile idiotically.

"What if you could change it for a day?" He asks, and Rukia raises an eyebrow questioningly at him.

"What are you talking about?" She asks suspiciously, as she crosses her arms and pins him with an unwavering stare.

"A colleague of mine, was working on an interesting set of products for couples. Now I know you and Kurosaki-san aren't a couple, but I think it could still work. The product itself, basically forces each in the pair to live like the other person lives. Basically, you'd be his height for a day, and he'd be your height." Urahara explains, and Rukia furrows her eyebrows at him.

"It seems like my height wouldn't be the only thing that changed, if it was a medicine like that." She points out, and Urahara shakes his head and smiles triumphantly at her.

"Actually there are only a few changes that he's been able to unlock the secrets to. I think height difference was the first one he ever stumbled upon, and it was quite by accident. He does have one for a couple who is of a vast age difference, but it's a different formula from the height one." Kisuke says, and Rukia isn't sure she believes that.

"What other secrets has he unlocked?" She asks curiously, and Urahara laughs a bit.

"There is one for a couple where one is overweight and the other is not, and also one that can change the color of one's skin. This is for interracial couples, who want the other to understand what prejudices they experience on a day to day basis." Urahara says, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"What astounding technology." She breathes, and Kisuke winks at her.

"So? You want to try it?" He asks, and Rukia pictures Ichigo being her height. It will be like getting to see what he looked like as a boy, and she can't stop smiling.

"You bet your ass I want to try it!" Rukia exclaims, and she can't stop smiling.

"Alright, if we go back to the store I can contact him. We'll do the transportation spell, and you'll have what you want very soon." He says, and Rukia scratches her chin.

"We'll have to be away from everyone else too. I wonder if I can take him to a hotel room or something." Rukia says, and Kisuke can't help but to laugh.

_If she does that, he'll think that he's going there to get laid! Now Yoruichi-san will get a huge laugh out of that! I must encourage her to do this!_

"Oh yeah, that's about the only way you can get away with it, because his family will have so many questions if they see you're suddenly Kurosaki-san's height instead of your own." He agrees, and Rukia appears to ponder that a minute.

"Okay! First the concoction, and instructions on how to administer it, and then the room!" Rukia says, and Urahara feels like his stomach is going to split from his amusement.

"Kuchiki-san! If you wear a hidden button camera for this whole affair, I won't charge you a dime for any of it, in fact I'll even pay for your hotel room!" He says, and Rukia raises an eyebrow at his offer. He apparently thinks it will be funny.

"You throw in a copy of the tape, and you'll have yourself a deal!" Rukia agrees after a moment of thought, and Kisuke is speechless only for a second.

"Then it's definitely a deal!" He tells her, while Rukia rubs her hands together evilly.

_Ha, ha. You are so in for it, Ichigo!_

* * *

Rukia has the concoction in her purse, but she's a bit upset about how it has to be administered…she has to put it in her mouth…and then kiss Ichigo! It requires combined saliva to activate it, and since only couples should be using it…

_I have to kiss Ichigo! This sucks so bad! I have to get my tongue in his mouth! How in the hell am I going to manage that anyways? It's not like we've kissed before!_

Rukia is quite frustrated. Urahara had seemed amused at her ire. She thinks about his suggestion…

_Flashback_

Urahara has a ridiculous smile on his face, and Rukia feels like punching him through the wall. He holds up his index finger and is able to smile while he yaps at her.

"Well Kuchiki-san! You can always bind him and force a kiss on him! It's not like he wouldn't forgive you, in fact he'd probably like it! Just remember you're wearing a hidden camera, and I'll be watching live." He is so amused that Rukia feels like slapping him is the only answer, and so she does just that

_**SMACK!**_

"You are such a pervert! Don't worry about how I'll kiss him, okay?!" She snapped before she stalked out.

_End Flashback_

"I'm the one worrying about it." Rukia mumbles, even as she feels the camera in her other pocket.

_I have to put this on, right before I administer the drug…and I have to press the button to start it. What if I kiss Ichigo before that though? No…I should just stick to the plan. I'm sick of him calling me so many names! He deserves this!_

"He will laugh so hard if I actually do bind Ichigo and force a kiss on him. Either way, this is bound to be an interesting night." Rukia says, before she hurries back to the Kurosaki residence.

When she gets to Ichigo's room, she finds him pacing. He looks at her and lets out a sigh of relief.

"Rukia!" He says, and she gives him a strange look, before he recovers.

"Ichigo, tonight we have somewhere we have to go. We're on a special hollow watch." Rukia says, since she can't very well tell him she plans to switch heights with him.

"Sure thing, runt." Ichigo says, and Rukia growls.

_Thanks for reminding me why I'm doing this!_

She turns on her heel and stomps out of the room without another word to him.

_I can't wait until you see how it feels to be this short again! You are going to get it, Ichigo!_

Ichigo's face falls as the door slams behind her, and he doesn't know why she gets so aggravated when he teases her, but he doesn't want her to be mad at him. He sighs and walks out of his room to go after her, but she's not upstairs anymore.

"Damn." Ichigo mutters, before he goes back into his room.

_No way am I talking to her in front of the rest of my family._

He flops down on his bed, and wonders about their hollow mission tonight.

_Later…_

As Rukia pulls him towards the hotel, Ichigo is bright red.

"Rukia! What are we doing here?!" He hisses at her, but she just raises an eyebrow at him.

"Do you want to go back home, and I'll keep an eye on the hollows myself?" She asks, and he grits his teeth.

"No." He says, not that he'd leave her at this point anyways.

_What if something…happens between she and I!?_

"I didn't think you'd want that." Rukia says that with a smile, and his blush comes back full force.

They walk inside and Rukia walks right up to the clerk.

"May I help you?" The clerk asks, and Rukia dazzles him with her brightest smile.

"Reservation for Kurosaki." Rukia says easily, and Ichigo nearly sputters.

_She made the reservation in my name!?_

"Here you are, Kurosaki-san." The man says, and Ichigo can feel heat radiating from his face.

"Thank you." Rukia says, as she grabs her overnight bag. Ichigo does the same, and she listens as the clerk tells her which direction she should go to find her room.

"Thanks." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia starts heading in the direction that the clerk indicated.

He's so embarrassed…what if his father hears about this!? He already knows what his father will think, and there is no way Ichigo can explain that they're on a hollow watch.

_Hell part of me feels like maybe something can finally happen while we're here…_

"Here it is!" Rukia says cheerfully as they walk in, and the first thing that Ichigo notices is that there is only one bed.

He's sure she doesn't plan to sleep in the closet tonight either, so this means…

_We'll be sharing a bed?!_

"Um…" Ichigo says, staring at the bed, and Rukia turns a bit pink too, but when she pictures him being her height, and her his height, she doesn't really feel too concerned that anything will actually happen.

_He's going to be so pissed off at me…_

"I'm going to shower." Rukia says abruptly, and she carries her overnight bag into the bathroom with her.

She shuts the door and undresses as she figures she should wash now, before she grows taller for the night. She walks to the door and yells out.

"Ichigo!" Rukia is very loud, and she hears a thump, like he fell down, or off the bed.

He hurries to the opposite side of the door, and hisses at her.

"What?!" He sounds agitated. Rukia sighs.

"Go get some takeout, okay?" She yells, and she hears him grumble on the other side of the door.

"Fine." He says, and Rukia turns on the water, but then Ichigo starts knocking on the door.

"What?!" Rukia calls out, and he sounds embarrassed when he responds.

"I need the key to get back in!" He calls out, and Rukia blushes.

"Oh yeah." Rukia bends over and grabs her pants. She finds the key, and opens the door a crack to hand them to him.

Ichigo realizes she must be naked to be like that, and as their fingers touch in passing the keys, he finds himself having a physical reaction to her.

He quickly leaves, and Rukia soaks in the shower the entire time he's gone. She finally gets out, gets dressed, and arranges the camera on her button. She brushes her hair, and her teeth, before she presses the activation button for the camera on her button. She also gets the concoction prepared in her hand.

When she exits, Ichigo is already back and glances up at her.

"You're finally out." Ichigo says, as he looks at her, and Rukia nods.

"Yeah. We should put the food away for later." Rukia says, as she picks up the bags, and sets them on the dresser. She quickly puts some of the concoction in her mouth, and she turns around.

Ichigo watches her nervously, as she looks at him. He's completely caught off guard when she rushes at him, and pushes him back on the bed before she presses an aggressive kiss against his lips, and quickly forces her tongue past his lips.

He's so shocked at her sudden forward behavior, but when he feels some weird liquid pass from her lips, and into his mouth, he quickly turns his head to the side, and tries to spit some of it out.

"Gross! What was that?" He asks, but Rukia does not look happy.

"Way of Binding Number One, Paralysis!" Rukia chants, and Ichigo finds himself bound like he was the first night he met her.

He's a bit nervous, because Rukia puts something in her mouth and approaches him again.

She holds his head still, and forces another passionate kiss on him. He can't say he minds it as much as he should, because she is quite a phenomenal kisser. When she finally pulls away, he looks at her nervously.

"Swallow it!" She orders him, and so he does. He is quite sure she won't keep kissing him like that if he doesn't listen.

Rukia taps her foot nervously. It should take five minutes to work, and the look in his eyes is suggesting he might want to get a bit frisky rather than sit and wait patiently.

"Rukia…can you unbind me please?" He asks, and she sighs. She releases her spell on him, and he stares at her with interest.

She stands up and walks away from him, and crosses her arms as she stares at him. He's not about to let it drop though.

"Rukia! What was that!?" Ichigo asks, and she stays silent for a moment.

"Nothing." Rukia says, and Ichigo bounces off the bed and in front of her.

"What do you mean, nothing!? You definitely did something! What did you make me swallow?" Ichigo asks, getting right in her face, and Rukia just tries to catch her breath nervously as she waits for the stuff to take effect.

"You'll see." Rukia says, and Ichigo grabs her wrist.

"You know, you didn't have to drug me if you wanted to get me into his bed, I'd have come to bed with you, without you needing to do that." Ichigo says, and Rukia turns bright red before she claps her hand over his mouth.

"Shut up, you're being an ass." Rukia orders him, even though she can't stop blushing.

_I bet Urahara is laughing really hard right now._

Ichigo stares at Rukia with surprise. She's acting like she didn't just force two completely passionate kisses on him, and he's just not having that. He felt something, damn it!

He snakes his arms around her, and opens his mouth to lick her palm. She squeals and yanks her hand away, while Ichigo smiles at her, a sexy and confident smile that makes her want to melt on sight of it.

"I think you started something." Ichigo says in a low voice, and Rukia backs away from him, feeling his intent…

"I think in under five minutes, you're going to be extremely pissed off at me." Rukia says, and that stops him in his tracks.

"Five minutes? Why?! What did you make me swallow, anyways!" He demands to know, and Rukia looks really nervous.

They stare at each other, Rukia restlessly, and Ichigo appears to be challenging her…until the medicine takes effect.

Rukia's dress tightens against her body as she grows to be his height, and her dress only barely covers her privates… The button with the camera is strained further out too, since she took on his height with her own proportions.

Ichigo on the other hand, loses his pants, and his boxers fall down afterwards, and he's only saved by the length of his tee-shirt, which covers his private area.

He looks up at her, and she looks down at him.

"No way!" Ichigo cries out, even as he dashes for the bathroom. Rukia looks down at her own body, and revels in how it feels to be Ichigo's height. When he runs back out, she can't help but to give him a triumphant smirk as she regards him.

"Hey shrimp." She says, and Ichigo scowls at her so angrily, but all she can do is think of how cute he looks, all undersized and angry.

He is about to let loose with a lecture that could last for an hour, but his substitute license starts going crazy.

Ichigo is happy to get out of his body, thinking their souls will be the proper size, but that is not the case…

Rukia laughs as Ichigo's zanpakutou remains the same size it's always been, but because it is, he falls on his face. He pulls the thing off his back, and carries it to go kill the hollows.

"I can't believe you, Rukia!" Ichigo shouts, and Rukia can't help but to laugh. She also can't help but to think how cute he is, with her own height.

"How do you like being my size?" Rukia asks, and he flips her off.

All she can do is laugh. He stops talking to her, when they get back to the room, and she ends up falling asleep on the bed, with him sitting on the floor sulking. He finally stands, and notices she's sleeping peacefully.

"Bitch." He grumbles, before he eyes the bed longingly. He looks down at his body.

_Nothing will happen while I'm like this. I may as well join her._

When Rukia wakes up with a mini Ichigo cuddled in her arms, her heart absolutely soars. Yes he's really small, but he's still Ichigo.

She makes the mistake of hugging him tighter and he wakes up. He immediately turns red and jumps out of bed before he regards her.

"I can't believe you were holding me in bed like that. You're sick!" He yells at her, and Rukia can't help but to blush.

"Shut up, Ichigo!" Rukia yells back, and he's back to giving her the silent treatment.

He doesn't talk to her, even when he gains back his regular size, he can only glare at her with contempt.

He does grab his clothes, run for the bathroom, and change, before he walks out grumbling under his breath though. Rukia has removed the camera button, and it's hiding inside her bag.

"This isn't what you take a guy to a hotel room to do." He grumbles, but Rukia hears him, and she's all up in his face in an instant.

"What was that?! You're always pissing me off, and calling me short! Maybe you'll think twice about that now!" She says, her eyes flashing as she stares up at him.

Ichigo remembers the passionate way she kissed him, and he drops his bag to return the favor…with no drugs to change their sizes. He's not all that surprised when she responds to his kiss, and he pulls her tight against his body.

_I'll show you the proper way to use a hotel room, Rukia._


	95. Present: Erotic Dream

**A/N-This is a special one shot because it's dedicated to the person who has a birthday today, Oct. 20th. It's also special because the idea was from another friend, and I figured this would be a good one for the birthday shot. So it's dedicated to both the person whose birthday it is, and also the person who gave me the idea. Please enjoy!**

_Erotic Dream_

Ichigo can hear Rukia moan erotically in her sleep. He practically blushes, because it's his name she calls out. He tries to go to sleep, but instead he lies awake, wondering what kind of dream she's having.

Rukia flips over to her side in Ichigo's closet, and she licks her lips. In her dream, she is in Ichigo's bed. She's not alone, no. Ichigo and his hollow are both there, as separate entities…not combined like they actually are.

They're both completely naked, not only that, they both have muscular hard bodies…and they both have their attention completely on her.

Ichigo and his hollow both seem to be completely okay with the idea of sharing her, and her body is shaking from being naked in their presence as they torture her with foreplay.

"_Rukia-chan_…" His hollow says, with a smile curved on his lips, and he leans forward to lick her ear.

"Rukia…" Ichigo says, as he pushes her legs apart and leans down to make love to her most tender and sensitive folds with his tongue.

A strange sound emerges from her throat, and his hollow leans down and starts sucking on her neck, using his teeth as he does so. Rukia moans from their combined attention and she raises her ass in the air a bit, to give Ichigo better access. He takes immediate advantage of the position, and she lets out a turned on moan from his effort.

"_So lovely_…" His hollow breathes, before he takes her nipple in his mouth again.

"Mm…" Rukia murmurs in pleasure, as both of them use their tongue to drive her mad. His hollow is using his teeth a bit too, but it feels too good to feel painful.

"_You like that, don't you Rukia-chan…let me suck on the other one_." His hollow says, and his voice makes his amusement obvious, but Rukia is too turned on to care.

He moves to her other nipple as promised, and rubs the breast he had just been paying attention to while he sucks and nibbles on her left breast. Rukia's eyes roll up into her head as the two both make sure they purposely rub their tongues on her in ways that make her entire body react.

"I…uh…" Rukia can hardly think straight, let alone talk. She can hardly believe the attention they're both showering her with.

Hollow Ichigo leans up and begins to kiss her on the mouth, while Ichigo begins to penetrate her below with his tongue. She moans into his mouth, as Ichigo drives her to distraction with his movements.

There are hands all over her body…whether or not they're Ichigo's hands or his hollow's hands, she has no way of knowing since her eyes are closed, just soaking in the pleasure. It's so much, almost too much for her to handle.

"_Rukia-chan likes this…you're such a dirty girl, Rukia-chan_…" His hollow whispers against her ear.

She squirms a bit, and he licks her on her neck and chest before he lifts her body higher up and flips her over. He moves in front of her, and places his arousal up against her mouth.

Ichigo behind her, arranges himself to be pressing his erection up against her moist folds, that he's gotten primed with his licking. She is still shaking from all of the pleasure they've brought upon her body…she doesn't care what they do to her, so long as she can feel the pleasure a bit more.

"_Suck it, Rukia-chan…I want to feel your mouth around me_." He tells her, with a satisfied smirk.

Rukia opens her mouth, and Ichigo's hollow slides himself in. At the same time, Ichigo slides himself in from behind her.

It's overwhelming for her, to have both of them wanting to be inside of her, in different ways. She runs her tongue along the head of his arousal and he pushes it deeper into her mouth.

"Rukia…" Ichigo calls out, as he rocks himself within her. Hollow Ichigo withdraws, and leans down to kiss her, but before his lips reach hers, she calls out.

"Ichigo…" Rukia murmurs, and his hollow's tongue is back in her mouth.

Ichigo finds his release within her, and his hollow pulls her forward to make love to her as well, while Ichigo moves behind her and presses hot kisses against the back of her neck, and down the center of her back.

Hollow Ichigo pulls her into the proper position, so that she's straddling him, and he pulls her down on top of him, before he goes crazy with making love to her.

Ichigo grabs her by her waist and assists her in the endeavor to make love to his hollow, and he murmurs into her ear about how beautiful she is. She feels goose bumps rise along her arms at Ichigo's words.

"_Bounce harder than that, Rukia-chan_!" His hollow orders, and Ichigo immediately starts to help her bounce more furiously on his hollow's throbbing erection.

She moans in response to the added quickness of the thrusts, and she throws her head back from the feeling of making love to his hollow. She opens her eyes to find herself staring into Ichigo's eyes, since her head is tilted back, as he's looking down at her, from behind and above her.

"Ichigo…" Rukia murmurs at his loving words, and he kisses her cheek, as his hollow grunts his own satisfaction.

Suddenly Rukia feels her body being lifted up in the air, and her eyes open, to find Ichigo holding her in his arms. Her dream is gone, and it's the real Ichigo, holding her.

"Rukia…you were calling out my name." He says, and Rukia knows she's bright red, so she's glad for the darkness in the room.

"I was?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo nods his head slowly.

"Yeah…so I'm carrying you to my bed." He says, and Rukia's eyes widen in surprise.

"You don't mind?" She asks, and he walks her over to his bed before he lays her down.

"No, do you?" He asks, and Rukia shakes her head no.

_I've been wanting to go in his bed for so long…_

"Thank you, Ichigo." Rukia mutters, and he lays down in bed next to her, before he whispers into her ear.

"What were you dreaming about?" He asks, and Rukia immediately feels herself heat up.

"Why do you want to know that?" Rukia asks, and he chuckles in her ear at that response.

"Can't you admit that you were dreaming about me?" He asks, and Rukia sucks in a deep breath.

"I was dreaming about you…" Rukia mutters, before she blushes again.

_And your hollow…_

"If it makes you feel any better, I dream about you too." Ichigo admits, and Rukia feels his arms close around her.

"Really?" Rukia asks, as she fully enjoys the sensation of being in his arms.

"Yeah…and listening to you in your sleep, I felt like I could really understand your feelings." Ichigo says, even though he doesn't share with her that in his latest dream it was a threesome with him, Rukia, and Chappy in Rukia's gigai.

"Ichigo, I don't want to lose you…ever." Rukia tells him in a soft voice, and he holds her tight against his body.

"Like you could ever lose me…you'll never get rid of me, Rukia. I'm going to be here for you, day or night, whenever you need me, for the rest of our lives. Because I want to live and die with you." He says, feeling far bolder than he ever has in the past.

"Do you swear it?" She asks him quietly, and he kisses the top of her head.

"I swear it on my mother's grave." He says solemnly, and Rukia feels a few tears start to fall from her eyes at his words.

"Then I'll love you forever." Rukia says softly, before she turns in his arms and looks into his eyes.

With the moonlight shining in, she can see his eyes clearly, and he looks very touched by her words.

"Love…huh? It's taken so long for one of us to utter that word. I figured you already knew…I've loved you for the longest time. I…more than love you…there just isn't a word to describe it." He says, and then he leans forward to kiss her.

_This is nothing like my dreams…it's so much better!_


	96. As Requested: All In A Days Work 3

**A/N-This is the third chapter to the All In A Days Work series I have going. Remember Ichigo and Rukia are at Sado's apartment, and have rolled up his bedding to put it away. They brought their own bedding to his apartment. Please enjoy!**

_All In A Days Work 3_

Ichigo opens his eyes, and realizes he fell asleep after the last time he and Rukia made love. She's in his tee-shirt now, reading the newspaper and not paying attention to him. He sits up.

"How long have I been asleep?" He questions, and Rukia jumps since she hadn't seen him move or noticed him waking up.

"A few hours." She replies, and he yawns before he stretches out his arms.

"I can't believe I fell asleep." He mutters, and Rukia laughs.

"I took that as a compliment, that I wore you out." She says, and he smirks at her.

"Well you did…but I'm energized now." He says, looking at her purposefully, and Rukia starts smiling.

"You are?" She asks.

He nods his head as he stands up and walks over to her wearing nothing at all which makes her heart race like crazy.

"I want you." Ichigo says, and Rukia drops the paper.

Within a moment he's picked her up in his arms and is kissing her. The shirt she's wearing starts to get shimmied up by him as he fumbles with that and balancing her. He finally walks her over to the wall, where he leans her against it, and removes her shirt.

"Ichigo…" Rukia whispers achingly, and he leans forward to kiss her.

_I know what you want Rukia, and I promise you that I'm going to give it to you._

Rukia gasps from the pleasure as he starts nibbling on her neck, and then he lightly bites into her skin.

He reaches down and starts stroking her clit to prepare her for a third and wild round of love making. He's a bit surprised that she's already wet, and ready to go. He finds it difficult to believe that he turns her on that much, but it makes him feel good nonetheless.

He isn't ready to start yet, he wants to make out some more before he goes there, and he reaches around to smack her ass a bit.

"Rukia…" He moans as he buries his face in her neck. He starts to kiss and suck much more aggressively, and Rukia sighs in sheer bliss as her senses are once more completely worked over by Ichigo.

"Ichigo…don't make me wait. I want you." She whispers, and he can hardly hold back once she puts it like that. He pushes her against the wall, and positions himself for entry.

"Do you want me to do it rough?" He asks, with his face turning a bit pink, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"Okay…" She says, and her eyes close as he probes at her folds with his boner.

He finds her entrance, and feels himself slide into her warm wet love canal. Then he gets a good hold on her legs for positioning, and he starts to go to town. Miraculously, his nap hasn't affected his ability to last, so he's left with mind numbing bliss as he makes love to her against the wall.

Rukia grabs onto his arms, as he bounces her body so that the penetration is fast, deep, and hard. He lets out a low sexy groan as he works her body over with his bumping and grinding. He stares at her breasts as they bounce from his thrusts.

"Rukia…" He growls out as he starts to push with even more vigor. She gasps from the added feelings that brings her, and she squeezes his arms even tighter.

Suddenly…he can feel her climaxing as he's working his rhythm, and her body's reaction to him instinctively makes him work harder, wanting her to feel every bit of pleasure she deserves to feel as she shakes in his arms, and squeezes him with more strength than he expects to feel.

"Oh Ichigo!" Rukia calls out as the waves of ecstasy don't die down right away…they keep on pulsating through her body as he keeps on going.

She sucks in a deep breath and moans loudly as her body jerks a bit in his arms from what's going on inside of her. Ichigo doesn't stop. He's not ready to finish yet, and he wants her to have another one of those…it felt so good against his arousal, and he wants to feel it again.

He balances her body with one arm, and puts the other on her breast, before he pushes it up a bit. He leans forward to lick her hard nipple, and his thrusts aren't as deep as he does this, but then he pulls away, and pushes her to her hands and knees.

He positions himself on his knees behind her, and then he reaches around with one hand to finger her clit as he reinserts himself into her again. Rukia holds herself up with her arms, even though she wants to collapse to her face at all of the things he's making her feel.

"God…Rukia…" Ichigo's voice is very low and sexy as he mutters at her, because he can feel himself finally starting to get close.

Rukia's body starts to shake again, and Ichigo lets out a loud turned on moan when he feels that. It's that sensation again, that her body is convulsing on the inside, so he yanks his hand away from her clit, and grabs onto her hips to really pound it home.

He can hear himself moaning and groaning very loudly, but since her volume is nearly as high as his, he finds no embarrassment in it all, just pure erotic pleasure.

Rukia knows his climax is upon him, because he's suddenly become so much more aggressive and loud. Her body feels like it's vibrating on the inside and he lets out a final shout before he pours himself within her.

He finally stills, and lets out a big shaky breath. Rukia pitches to the ground with her entire front, popping him out of her body, and he sputters at her when she does that.

"Now it's all over the floor…" He groans, before he runs to the bathroom to grab some tissues.

Rukia breathes deeply on the floor, a bit in shock at how much she's completely obsessed with making love to him. She can't experience it enough. She smiles though as she sees Ichigo run back with tissue to wipe up what had spilled out when he popped out of her body.

_Don't worry Sado, we'll scrub the place clean before you get back…but I'm not done making Ichigo mine yet!_


	97. As Requested: Another Try

**A/N-I had a request to continue chapter 79, with Inoue trying harder! Well I hope you all enjoy it, it's dedicated to the person that requested it!**

_Another Try_

Ichigo has been mighty uncomfortable, ever since Rukia disclosed to him that she had felt Inoue's reiatsu on the photo chopped picture that had fallen out of her cubby and into her face. He has managed to stay away from Inoue in any situation where they could be left alone, and their friendship has become very strained.

He's only made to think about such things when he's in Inoue's presence, since usually his mind is on his beautiful girlfriend who makes him happy beyond belief. He loves being with her, and teaching her about the things she doesn't know.

Not only that, but his family adores her.

His mind is totally on her even now, as he lays in bed with the sniffles, a cough, and a fever.

_It was sweet that she wanted to stay and take care of me. Too bad dad insisted she go to school…_

* * *

Rukia dislikes school much more when Ichigo's not there with her. At least she'll be able to collect his homework for him. She hopes he's getting a lot of rest since his homework will probably take him all evening to do it all.

At lunchtime, Tatsuki walks over to Rukia, and Inoue listens to them from a couple of meters away.

"Kuchiki-san, where is Ichigo today?" Tatsuki asks, and Rukia sighs before answering.

"He's sick. His father is taking care of him. I hope he's better by tomorrow." Rukia sounds a bit down, and Tatsuki nods her head in understanding.

_They are so close…_

Neither of them notice that Inoue is backing away, and she quietly slips out of the classroom.

It isn't until class is ready to start again, that Rukia notices Inoue's absence. A small part of her cannot help but to be worried about why Inoue disappeared.

She desperately wants to split, and go be with Ichigo, but she forces herself to stay seated at her desk, and to trust in the fact that Ichigo loves her.

That only works for about an hour and a half before her worry gets the better of her, and she heads to the Kurosaki residence.

* * *

Ichigo tosses in his bed, unable to fully relax, wishing Rukia would hurry up and come home, since he always feels better around her. His father gave him medicine, but it's only given him minor relief.

Downstairs, Isshin hears the doorbell to his home from the clinic section, and he hurries to answer it. He's very shocked to see Inoue Orihime standing there with a container of soup in her hands.

"I heard Kurosaki-kun was sick, and so…" Inoue blushes and holds up the container.

Isshin gawks at her for an instant. He doesn't know why another girl would be bringing his son soup when he's so obviously involved with Rukia-chan, but he's seen this girl around before, so he steps aside to allow her to come in.

"It was nice of you to come by." Isshin says, and Inoue smiles.

"I thought a bit of miso soup might help him feel better…may I go and see him?" Inoue asks, and Isshin just nods his head, and bites his lip at the current development.

_I wonder what Rukia-chan would think about this…perhaps I should have said no?_

Inoue walks slowly up the stairs, and follows the feeling of the familiar reiatsu she's come to recognize and love as much as the face of the owner of the powerful reiatsu.

_It doesn't stop being strong, even when he's ill._

Inoue smiles, she had actually wondered about that fact. It's good to know his power isn't diminished, even if he's sick. She's sure he wouldn't want to fight, but he won't have to with her around.

"I may not be able to fight the Shinigami, but I can kill a hollow…I've done it before." Inoue whispers, before she puts her hand on the knob and pushes the door open to enter his room.

All she can see is a lump in the bed. The covers are pulled up and he has a pillow over his head, so she can't even see the bright color of his hair. He lets out a loud cough, giving no indication that he heard her enter. She swallows and gives him a look of determination.

_Maybe if I make a good impression now, he'll start seeing me as the girl he'd rather have for his girlfriend._

She stays as quiet as she can, as she heads over to his bedside. She stares down at the lump in the bed, and finally lifts the pillow from on his face. She sucks in a breath, and her heart beats a lot faster when she sees how cute he looks with his red cheeks. He appears to be sleeping, and doesn't react to her presence.

_I want to take care of him…nurse him back to health._

Inoue takes the back of her hand, and gently lays it across his forehead. Her eyes widen when she feels the heat radiating off of his head. She feels like he needs more attention than what his father is providing for him.

She sets the soup down on his nightstand, tries not to notice the photo of Rukia that he has framed there, and runs to get him a cold compress.

It only takes her a minute to locate the bathroom, and to find a clean washcloth. Inoue smiles.

_Yuzu-chan sure is organized!_

After getting the cloth wet with cold water, she wrings it out, and folds it up, before she hurries back to his room. She goes to his bedside, and carefully places the cold compress on his forehead.

His eyes open when she does that, and he instantly looks shocked, not to mention uncomfortable.

"Inoue…what are you doing here, in my room?" He asks, even as he realizes she put a cold compress on his head.

"I brought you some miso soup, in the hopes it would help you feel better. When I felt the heat coming off of your head though, I went to get you a wash cloth." She explains, and he eyes her nervously for a moment before he responds.

"Uh, thanks. Why aren't you at school?" He asks, and she blushes.

"I was, but when I heard you were sick, I had to do something. I'm not the kind of person who can sit idly by while someone I care about is in pain. You must know I care about you a lot." She tells him, and Ichigo grimaces.

"I care about you too, as a _friend_." He stresses the word friend, which makes her look away for a moment.

"Well I care about you as more than friends. It's hard for me sometimes." Inoue admits, staring right at him, and Ichigo feels even more uncomfortable than what he did to start with.

"You should just forget about it." Ichigo says, feeling like a trapped animal, and she laughs at that response.

"Forget how? It's not just a simple crush, I love you with all of my heart and soul. How am I supposed to forget that? Are you sure you can never love me, that we can never be together?" She asks him in a pleading tone, and Ichigo stares wide eyed at her.

He's saved from having to answer by the window opening, and Rukia popping in.

"Rukia!" Ichigo says it with a lot of relief, and she checks out the scene for a moment before she locks eyes with Inoue.

"I came to check on you since I was worried about you." Rukia says to Ichigo, while still looking at Inoue.

"I'm glad you did." He says honestly, and Inoue takes a couple of steps back.

"But I wonder what she is doing here." Rukia says in a tight voice, and Ichigo shakes his head.

"I opened my eyes, and she was in here." He explains, and Rukia glares at Inoue.

"It seems really inappropriate for you to nurse another girl's boyfriend back to health when he's sick." Rukia tells her in a low voice, confronting her directly.

Inoue takes a deep breath, and looks at Ichigo who is looking nervously back and forth between the two women.

"Kurosaki-kun…think about what I said, okay?" She says, and that makes Rukia's glare turn quite angry.

Ichigo blinks a few times.

_Why do I have to deal with this when I feel like shit?! Damn it!_

"There won't be any need to think about it, Inoue. We will never be a couple. I don't feel that way about you." He says, to avoid another uncomfortable talk with the girl.

Inoue bows her head.

"I see…" She mutters, before she turns around.

She doesn't want to let them see her tears, she can't. She heads out of his room, down the stairs, and out of his house.

_Hearing him say it was the worst part of all! He'll never want me, only Kuchiki-san!_


	98. As Requested: Isshin's Thanks

**A/N-I had a request to do this one shot, and it's dedicated to the person that requested it.**

_Isshin's Thanks_

"How do you manage to do this every year? Get these girls drunk…it's illegal you know!" Ichigo snaps at his father, but Isshin gives him a goofy smile.

"It's a festival! It's not my fault if the vendor accidentally gave the girls a large quantity of alcohol!" Isshin defends himself, and then glances at Rukia, who also had quite a bit to drink, but she is holding herself up admirably.

"I can't believe I have to carry them…this is just like last year!" Ichigo snaps, and Isshin laughs.

"Do you remember what I said to you last year, Ichigo?" Isshin asks, and Ichigo blushes before he looks away.

"Do you?" Ichigo asks testily.

Isshin smirks before he glances at Rukia, who is smiling softly and listening to their conversation. He looks back at his son.

"Of course. I told you that if you met a nice girl, to bring her home and introduce her to the family! Here it is, only one year later…and you two are completely in love. Maybe by this time next year, you'll be married." Isshin says, and Ichigo sputters as he almost drops his sisters.

"Shut up!" Ichigo growls, but Rukia is smiling broadly.

"You do know, Rukia chan…that you are the only girl he's brought home to meet the family since I told him that, don't you? In fact…the only other girl he brought home to meet the family was Tatsuki-chan, and that was over ten years ago." Isshin says, and Ichigo has a look of horror on his face.

_He talks too fucking much!_

"Really?" She asks smiling, since his father brought up the idea of them being married. Little did his father know that Ichigo already brought that up before they made love for the first time.

_He was trying to fight it, and I kept pressuring him, and he said he wanted to wait until we were married…yeah right I already waited as long as I could…if he only knew how much I'm attracted to him!_

"Yeah. Really." Ichigo snaps at her, making her glance back at him with a frown.

Isshin sidles up close to Rukia, and leans down to whisper in her ear.

"Honestly Rukia-chan, I was beginning to worry that maybe he swung the _other_ way, if you know what I mean." Isshin's whisper is soft but that doesn't stop Ichigo from freaking out.

"What did you say old man?!" He hisses, and a giggle erupts from Rukia, which further incites her boyfriend's anger.

"I was telling Rukia-chan that she could sleep in your closet tonight if she wanted to." Isshin says innocently which makes Ichigo almost drop his sisters again.

_But he hasn't allowed that since he learned Rukia was staying with us!_

"I will take you up on your offer. I miss his closet a great deal." Rukia tells Isshin, and Ichigo fights the urge to scoff.

_Like you'll really be in that closet…no you'll be in my arms._

"I'd like to allow you to stay in there all of the time, but the girls might get the wrong impression." Isshin says, and Rukia smiles at him.

"That's very conscientious of you." She says, and Ichigo can't help but to snort at that comment.

"Yeah, you'll find those few and far in between his brainlessness." Ichigo mutters.

Rukia's eyes widen while Isshin simply turns around and punches Ichigo in the gut since his arms are occupied with holding his sisters on either shoulder. Her boyfriend doubles over and gives his father a dirty look that could kill.

"I have always been a conscientious parent!" Isshin insists, and Ichigo snorts again.

"Is that why my little sisters have ended up drunk two years in a row at the festivals when they're with you?" He asks in a snotty tone, and Isshin chuckles nervously as he scratches his head.

"Of course you have to focus on that." He says, and Ichigo scoffs again.

"Tonight is not the time to brag about you being conscientious. What are we going to tell the cops if they stop us?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia pipes up thinking she's helping.

"I'll use my memory modifier to make them leave us alone!" She answers, and Isshin laughs.

"Rukia-chan here is so resourceful." He says appreciatively, and Ichigo grumbles behind them as he readjusts his sisters on his shoulders.

"Don't talk about using that thing so loudly." Ichigo mutters, and Rukia glances back.

_I can't tell him how cute he looks carrying his sisters…he'll just scowl at me._

"You're the one who asked." Rukia says with a frown, and Ichigo rolls his eyes at her.

"I didn't ask you." He says in frustration, and Isshin laughs.

"I see, you didn't want Rukia-chan to help me, is that it?" Isshin asks, and Ichigo gives him a look that clearly says '_yeah!'_

"Ah, sorry Ichigo. I thought it was a valid concern and answered without thinking." She says, and he just lowers his head.

_Why do I even try._

"It's okay Rukia-chan, I appreciate that you'd be willing to help. It makes me feel much better about the fact that the girls aren't wearing underwear under their kimonos." Isshin says, which makes Rukia's mouth drops open, but Ichigo remembers this from last year as well.

"You and your sick jokes." Ichigo mutters, but Isshin's eyes gleam as he looks back at his son.

"Last year I was joking. Not this year." He says, and Ichigo turns bright red as he glares at his father.

"How can you be so sure?" Ichigo asks, but then he closes his eyes. "Wait…I don't want to know." He mutters, and Isshin laughs.

"So don't let your hand slip, or else you'll seem like a sick nut." Isshin says, and Ichigo gives his father a death glare.

"Are you trying to scar them for life?" Ichigo demands, and Isshin chuckles.

"Nah, I really was kidding. I just wanted to see that reaction out of you." He says, and Ichigo has had enough.

"Fucking shit." Ichigo mutters angrily.

He slows down a lot and lets his father get further ahead of him. Rukia stays in step with his father though, and Ichigo just thinks about how it will be with her in his bed tonight.

Isshin lets out a big sigh.

"He held out longer than I thought he would." Isshin says, and Rukia gives him a questioning look.

"Sorry?" She asks, and Isshin smiles at her before glancing back to be sure Ichigo hasn't caught up.

"I was trying to get him to give us some privacy, because there's something I want to say to you, Rukia-chan." Isshin says, and Rukia is fairly shocked.

"What is it?" She asks, and Isshin gives her a huge smile.

"I want to thank you Rukia-chan. For coming into my son's life, for changing his world, and for being his future wife." Isshin says, and Rukia blushes.

"You don't have to thank me." She says in a low voice but Isshin shakes his head.

"I do…he was very miserable before you came along. I am very thankful to you, for bringing light back into my son's eyes. Light that was missing for too many years." Isshin says, and Rukia smiles shyly up at him.

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." Rukia admits, before she walks quietly, thinking.

_Ichigo's life wasn't the only one profoundly changed with our meeting…mine was too. _


	99. As Requested: Truth Or Dare 2

**A/N- I had a request to continue on from Truth or Dare, chapter eighty. This is dedicated to the person that requested it, remember Ichigo and Rukia have become a couple since their confession after they left Tatsuki's birthday party. To the person that requested it, I know you wanted it to be Rukia's birthday, but it's much closer to Ishida's birthday, so I've made that small change. I'd like to do a Rukia's birthday chapter in January, when it's her birthday.**

_Truth Or Dare 2_

"I'm still so shocked that you threw me a surprise birthday party! Thank you very much Inoue-san." Ishida says politely, as he gives her a friendly smile.

"Of course I had to throw you a party Ishida-kun! I wanted to celebrate your birthday with you. I've never once forgotten how you saved my life in Soul Society." Inoue tells him, and Ishida turns a bit pink at the reminder of how he saved her in the past.

"Well, I'd like to do something to thank you." Ishida says, and Inoue smiles at him.

"You can thank me by enjoying the party." Inoue says simply, but Tatsuki slides up next to her.

"And by playing Truth or Dare! We did it at my party, and it was fun!" Tatsuki exclaims, and Ichigo overhears this.

"No way! Haven't you had enough of that stupid game?!" He demands, and Tatsuki laughs at him.

"You should be grateful! If I remember correctly, you and Kuchiki-san got much closer after my birthday party!" She says, and Ichigo immediately turns red.

"Don't take credit for that!" He snaps, and Tatsuki laughs in his face.

"What's the matter? You afraid to play some Truth or Dare again?" She asks in a taunting voice, and Ichigo scoffs.

"It's a stupid game. Can't you think of something a bit more age appropriate?" He asks, and Tatsuki smirks.

"Spin the bottle?" She asks, and Ichigo glares at her.

"I won't play that either." He says, and Tatsuki laughs again.

"I already knew that. Come on, don't be such a spoilsport! Let's play truth or dare!" She says, and Rukia starts nodding.

"Don't worry Ichigo, I have my memory modifier, so if they ask anything inappropriate, we can stop them without running away." Rukia whispers, and Ichigo sighs.

"That device won't even work on half the people here. Didn't this game make you uncomfortable the last time?" He asks, and Rukia shakes her head at him.

"To me, that was such a beautiful night, none of it seemed bad at all." She responds, and Ichigo's face softens.

_Because we confessed…_

"Fine. If Rukia wants to play, then I'll play." Ichigo relents, and Tatsuki nods before winking at the petite Shinigami.

"Thank you, Kuchiki-san! I never thought I'd ever see Ichigo so whipped." Tatsuki says, and Ichigo sputters.

"What did you say?!" He demands, and Tatsuki laughs.

"You heard me, Ichigo. Did I stutter?" She asks, and he sputters some more.

"Shut up Tatsuki, you don't even know what you're talking about!" He snaps at his longtime friend, and she chuckles some more.

_Yeah right…you're so whipped!_

Ishida has stayed quiet, but hopeful. He's hoping that somehow, miraculously, he has a perfect seventeenth birthday.

"Seeing Kurosaki so uncomfortable only makes me want to play more." Ishida says, and Ichigo throws him a death glare next.

"Act your age." Ichigo mutters at him, and Ishida pushes up his glasses, before forcing himself to ignore Ichigo.

"You're the last person in the world that should be saying something like _that_ to _me_." Ishida responds with superiority, and Ichigo gives him a nasty look.

_He's lucky it's his birthday…_

"Ishida-kun, I think you should get to start out, since it's your birthday!" Inoue says quickly, to keep the two from arguing like they typically do.

Inoue gathers everyone into a circle, though they excluded Keigo from this party since he's never tried to get along with Ishida. Mizuiro sits with his current two girlfriends, holding both of their hands as they join the circle and sit down.

Once everyone is settled, Tatsuki has Inoue on one side, and Ichigo on her other side. Rukia is sitting next to Ichigo as well, while Ishida is next to Inoue with one of Mizuiro's girlfriends on his other side, then Mizuiro, his second girlfriend, and Sado connects the circle, between Mizuiro's second girlfriend and Rukia.

"Kurosaki…truth or dare?" Ishida asks with an evil smile on his face, while his rival glares at him.

Ichigo is immediately wary. He eyes Ishida warily as he considers which option would be safer to pick. After a long moment and a deep breath, he makes his decision.

"Dare." Ichigo says decisively, and Ishida's smile gets even wilier.

"Let the girls in the room put make up on your face…" Ishida says triumphantly, and then he holds up his finger. "…and you have to wear it until it's time to leave." Ishida says, and he can tell that his request doesn't thrill the orange haired freak of nature.

"Like hell!" Ichigo says, shaking his head. "Sick fucking pervert. I'm not wearing make up. Come up with something else or I'll leave with Rukia right now." Ichigo says stubbornly, and Tatsuki starts to nod.

"I have to say I agree…seeing Ichigo with make up on would be…disturbing." Tatsuki says with a look of disgust on her face, but Rukia's eyes have lit up.

"You'd look so cute with blush and eyeliner…ooh! Mascara! Let me do it, Ichigo!" Rukia says, causing everyone else to start laughing.

"Fuck no!" Ichigo growls at her, even as he glares.

"Fine, crybaby, I'll come up with something else." Ishida says, as he taps his finger against his chin.

"Fucking mascara…" Ichigo grumbles under his breath at his girlfriend, who has to concentrate on staying quiet so that she doesn't bust up into loud and uncontrollable laughter.

Ishida's eyes light up as he attempts to get his rival to back down from a second dare in a row. Ichigo also seems to realize that his man card is at stake if he rejects the next dare as well, and he makes up his mind to go through with it, no matter what it is.

"I dare you to streak up the street." Ishida challenges, and Ichigo turns a bit red, but he sets his jaw, even as he remembers Rukia's reaction the first time she saw him naked.

She had remarked with a fearful look, that his penis was as big as her arm. He wasn't as proud of her words as some men might be, until she told him later on that he had pleased her more than she had ever dreamed possible. From that moment on, he found a lot of pride in his size.

Ichigo stands up and walks over to Inoue's front door with his back to the group as he starts to disrobe. The guys look away from Ichigo, but watch out of the corners of their eyes. The girls are all staring though, and drooling. Rukia smirks a bit since she knows the handsome man stripping in front of Inoue's front door only has eyes for her.

When Ichigo's ass comes into sight, Inoue clutches at her chest, which makes Ishida scowl a moment, but then Ichigo turns to the side, exposing the size of his attachment, and Rukia is the only one who doesn't visibly react. Even Sado lets out a tiny cough at the action.

Rukia winks at Ichigo as she watches his ass before he disappears out the door, and takes off at top speed down the street. Everyone flies over to the window, and points at him laughing. Tatsuki eyes Rukia's small frame and marvels at the miracle of the human body, but Mizuiro eyes Rukia with much different thoughts, the kind he'd never say out loud.

_He's completely ruined her for other men…for her sake, I hope they stay together._

When Ichigo comes back inside, he cups himself and quickly reaches down to grab his tee shirt to cover his junk. Once that's accomplished, he grabs the rest of his clothes.

He blushes when he sees the blatant appreciation on all of the girls faces except Tatsuki's face, but then he gives Ishida a triumphant smirk, sensing that he came out of this looking better than the birthday boy.

"Did it work out like you wanted it to?" Ichigo asks before he disappears into Inoue's bathroom to redress without an audience. Ishida crosses his arms, and turns pink as everyone looks at him

"Why did you dare him to get naked?" Mizuiro asks curiously, as both of his girlfriends had squeezed his hands tighter at the sight of his friend in the buff.

"I didn't think he actually would…" Ishida mutters, and Rukia can't help but to let out a little chuckle.

"Then I guess the answer to Ichigo's question would be no. It didn't exactly work out like you wanted it to." Rukia says, and Inoue is still speechless from the sight she was just allowed to witness.

"That was more of him than I ever wanted to see," Tatsuki mutters, and the guys all nod their heads at that sentiment.

Inoue's expression suddenly saddens as she can perfectly envision Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san draped naked in each other's arms. The vision bursts her entire bubble.

Ichigo walks back out of the bathroom fully clothed and with his arms crossed. He can hardly believe he rose to the challenge, and pulled it off without making a complete ass of himself, even though he's not exactly pleased that they've all seen him naked.

He sees Rukia smirking at him, and he just focuses on her, even if he does prefer she'd stop finding amusement in the situation.

"It's your turn, Ichigo." Rukia says, and he nods his head.

"Tatsuki…truth or dare?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia smiles.

"Truth." She says, and he turns a bit pink.

"Are you gay or straight?" Ichigo asks, earning gasps from everyone in the room.

"What kind of question is that?!" Tatsuki snaps, and Ichigo holds up his hands.

"Hey! You're the one who picked truth, now answer the question!" He tells her, and Tatsuki scoffs.

"Of course I'm straight." She says in a huff, before she turns towards the birthday boy.

"Truth or dare?" She asks Ishida, who looks taken aback.

"Um…truth?" He says, not sure if he picked the right option, and Tatsuki raises an eyebrow.

"Do you have a crush on Orihime?" She asks, and Ishida blushes furiously.

"Of course not! Inoue-san is my friend!" Ishida says, not wanting to reveal his true feelings like Kurosaki apparently did at her birthday party.

"That's right!" Inoue says, and Ishida doesn't look overjoyed to see her piping in.

"Truth or dare?" Ishida asks Mizuiro, who suddenly looks nervous.

"Truth…" Mizuiro says hesitantly, and Ishida pushes up his glasses.

"How many girlfriends have you had in your life?" Ishida asks, and Mizuiro shrugs.

"I don't know…I don't keep track." He responds, earning a small glare from both of the girls he's with. Then he looks at Inoue.

"Truth or dare?" He asks her, and she bites her lip.

"Dare." Inoue says, not wanting to be forced to tell the truth about anything uncomfortable.

"Um…I dare you to…make out with Ishida." Mizuiro finally says, since he hadn't expected her to pick dare.

Inoue blushes, and she hesitantly moves over onto Ishida's lap, before he turns red, and they begin to make out for a few minutes.

They don't notice Ichigo and Rukia get up to leave, since they want to go make out for themselves, and when their time is finally up, Ishida has a shit grin on his face. He's even happier to see his rival gone, though he doesn't realize his rival is going to get a lot further with his girlfriend than what he just did with Inoue.

_Not a bad seventeenth birthday party at all!_


	100. As Requested: All In A Days Work 4

**A/N- I had a request to continue on from the All In A Days Work series, to Sado coming home and finding IchiRuki passed out from their sex marathon…it's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_All In A Days Work 4_

"Did you scrub the counter?" Rukia asks with concern, and Ichigo nods.

"Of course!" He says, and she thinks about it for a long moment before responding and thinking about what they did on the counter right before they started cleaning.

"Well…clean it again!" She orders him, and after a moment of thought he decides she's right, and he sprays with a strong antibacterial cleaner before he gets to scrubbing again.

Rukia plugs in the vacuum cleaner and begins to vacuum around his apartment, and Ichigo appears in front of her.

"I'm going to go scrub the shower!" He yells over the sound, and Rukia simply nods her head.

She keeps on vacuuming while he heads into the bathroom to double scrub that with the same intensity that he scrubbed the counter. She takes her time, but when she's finished, she grabs a rag and some cleaner to clean the wall where they leaned up against it from having sex.

The only problem is, when she's finished with that, only that area of the wall still looks clean, so she's forced to scrub the entire wall. She uses way too much cleaner, and when Ichigo comes back into the room, he wrinkles his nose at the smell.

"P.U.!" Ichigo exclaims before he grabs his nose. "Open some windows!" He exclaims before he rushes over to do just that.

Rukia glances up and suddenly realizes that the smell of the cleaner has pretty much overtaken the entire apartment. She watches as Ichigo opens the windows in the room.

"I think we're done…I feel positively grimy." Rukia says, and her boyfriend suddenly seems very interested in what she might say next.

"Yeah me too." He agrees, and she looks at him.

"Now I want to shower." She tells him, and he grins at her.

"I'll help you." He agrees, and she blushes but doesn't argue the point.

He follows her into the bathroom where she removes the tee-shirt she had put on in order to clean, and Ichigo yanks down his sweatpants.

He surprises her by being well behaved, at first. He helps her scrub every inch of her body, and she lets out a small moan of pleasure when he does the middle of her back, since he gets it with more pressure than she's ever able to get on it.

Of course her moan of pleasure is all it takes to make her boyfriend get as hard as a rock, like he's been for the majority of the time they've spent at Sado's apartment. He turns her around, and leans down to press a fiery kiss against her lips. When they pull away, he can see the way her eyes sparkle at the level of intimacy that they share in the shower.

"Ichigo…" Rukia whispers, as she can feel the magic of their love enveloping her entire being once more.

"We don't kiss enough Rukia…I'm going to make sure I correct that from now on." He says huskily, and she smiles up at him.

"I won't fight you on that," she tells him with wink, which makes him groan.

_How can she be so damned sexy!?_

"Good…" He tells her, before he leans down to share another exciting kiss with her.

Rukia closes her eyes and sighs happily into his mouth as his tongue roams expertly around her mouth. She's glad that he likes kissing her so much, because she loves it too.

Her body shivers in pleasure as his hands start roaming around her naked and wet body. He touches her in a needy way, letting her know without words that much more is to come. She puts on palm on his cheek as she kisses him, and reaches her other hand around to grab his rear end and pull his middle into her.

_I love you Ichigo! I love you so damned much!_

Rukia lets a shaky moan out into his mouth when his hand slides around her front and he begins to massage her most sensitive feminine place as he kisses her passionately.

He wishes he could voice all of the things he feels, but he feels like if he said it all out loud, it might sound really stupid…and he knows instinctively that what he's feeling is hardly stupid.

_Loving her is better than anything I've ever felt before…I just want to love her forever…_

She begins to squirm in his arms, taking him back to the effort at hand, of trying to please his girlfriend who is far too cute for her own good. He purposely lets out a low pleased moan, to let her know how much he likes her reactions to his touch.

Rukia finds that her boyfriend has paid close attention to her in their past love making sessions, and is catching on to exactly how she likes to be touched. His caresses are driving her insane with want.

Ichigo of course is not unaffected by what he's doing to her…simply touching her is enough to make him feel like the skin is really straining itself below…

_She's ready…I can feel it…_

He sits down in the tub, and pulls her down on top of him. Rukia grasps the edge of the tub to position herself over him. He looks at her with love shining in his eyes, and she smiles as she sees that. There is no greater gift in the world than Ichigo's love. The water is hitting her back as she starts to bounce up and down on top of him, and he has a look on his face like maybe he's in a bit of pain. She smiles as she recognizes this look.

_He's struggling to last…amazing! _

It's really amazing for her, since he'd seemed to be able to last longer each time previously, but then he opens his eyes and stares at her directly in the face as she keeps up her movement.

His eyes roam over her chest as she continues to work at making love to him, and after a moment he lifts her off of him, and he leans forward to shut off the water, which was getting progressively colder.

He stands with her, and grabs the towel, but her eyes are on his erection, which is sticking straight out.

He pats their bodies dry before hanging the towel back up, and he pulls her out into the main area, towards their bedding, so that they can finish there. Since she had done all the work in the bathtub, he lays her on her back and climbs on to assume a more physical role in the love making.

She immediately begins to moan in appreciation as he doesn't even try to hold back. He wants to please her, and he's noticed that she likes it best when he makes love to her using all of his muscles along with all of his power.

Her back arches up, and her entire body shivers visibly from his attentions, and he's unable to even think past the incredible orgasm that is making his entire body convulse as he stays tucked tightly within her.

As his body seems to go back to normal, he takes a deep breath, and wonders why the room doesn't seem aired out as it should considering the windows are open. The combination of breathing in the scent of the cleaner, and making love to Rukia are enough to make him want to close his eyes just for a few minutes, to take a small nap.

Rukia's mind seems to be working in a similar manner, as she too simply closes her eyes and holds onto her handsome boyfriend. Within a minute, they're both fast asleep.

_Later…_

When Sado walks up towards his apartment, he notices the lights are off even though the sun is setting, and he wonders if Ichigo left as he puts his key into the lock to open the door.

The sight that greets him when he gets inside is a full view of his friend's naked body. Rukia is pressed against Ichigo, but Sado is still given a generous view of her entire backside. He blushes furiously, and wonders how in the hell he should wake them up…

Dropping his bag is all it takes for Ichigo to pop up into a sitting position and then he turns bright red as he hastily covers himself and Rukia with the blanket.

"Sorry…" Sado whispers, even though he knows it's not his fault. Ichigo seems to realize it too, and he simply shrugs.

"Me too…" Ichigo mutters, since he really hadn't wanted Sado to find him like that.

"I'll go shower…" Sado says, and Ichigo nods gratefully.

"We should be ready to go home by the time you're out." Ichigo assures him, and Sado nods.

"Thanks for looking after the place while I was gone…and for cleaning up around here too." Sado says, though he has a good idea why they did that considering how he found them.

"Uh…no problem." Ichigo says feeling a bit uncomfortable since he's still naked.

Sado quickly heads into the bathroom while Ichigo starts to shake Rukia awake, but her eyes pop open the second he touches her.

"I can't believe I didn't wake up when his key hit the lock…" She grumbles, and her face is pink.

"Yeah…hurry up and get dressed now." Ichigo says, though he wishes he didn't have to say that.

Rukia hurries to do that, but she pauses to smile at him.

"We had a great time while we were here though didn't we?" She asks him, and he smirks back at her.

"All in a days work…" He tells her, and she laughs.

"So I can expect this kind of attention often?" Rukia asks and Ichigo nods his head.

"You bet your ass…as often as I can get away with giving it to you…" He says, and she laughs as she knows he's referring to his family, but her eyes sparkle in happiness as she gets her dress on.

_Then I will always be happy!_


	101. As Requested: Rukia's Egg 5

_Rukia's Egg 5_

Two days. They've been married for two days, and Kaito is only six months old. Somehow Ichigo figured they'd be married for more than two days, when Rukia woke him up in the middle of the night, breathing heavily from pain.

_She laid another fucking egg._

The egg that Kaito hatched from was dipped in gold as Isshin had promised, and displayed proudly in the Kurosaki home. Somehow Ichigo hadn't anticipated that his dear wife would lay an egg within two days of their nuptials.

"Rukia…are you in pain?" Ichigo asks, even though he'd really like to shake her and ask her why she had to lay another one so damned soon. Their children won't even be a year apart from each other in age.

"A bit. It isn't exactly easy to lay one." Rukia tells him in a tight voice, and he nods.

"Is there anything I can get you?" He asks, and Rukia gives him a weak smile.

"A glass of water would be nice." She says, as she eyes the egg which is currently in the corner of Ichigo's bedroom.

Ichigo hurries to do her bidding, and groans when he runs into his father as he enters the kitchen. His father, seeing Ichigo isn't holding Kaito, aims an elbow for Ichigo's head, but he finds himself lifted into the air and falling on his back before his elbow can make a connection.

"Don't mess with me today old man." Ichigo ways with a warning note in his voice, which immediately sparks Isshin's interest.

"What's wrong Ichigo? A newly married man like yourself should be all smiles! What on earth could possibly be wrong?" Isshin asks, and Ichigo sighs as he pulls a cup out of the cabinet.

"Rukia." Ichigo says in a low voice as he opens the refrigerator and pulls out a jug of water.

"What about Rukia-chan?" Isshin asks, and Ichigo pours the water while emitting a long sigh.

"She laid another egg." Ichigo grumbles, and his father reacts in the exact way that Ichigo expected.

"It's a dream come true!" Isshin bellows loudly, and Ichigo grimaces at his father's dramatic reaction.

"Yeah…" Ichigo grumbles, before he puts away the jug and hurries out of the kitchen.

He finds his scowl becomes a small smile as he heads up the stairs, because he's loved everything about raising Kaito thus far. Hatching a second baby will likely be just as much fun. He walks into his room to find his son fussing in his wife's arms, and he sets the water on the nightstand.

"Ichigo?" Rukia asks in a small voice, and he scratches his head.

"Yeah?" He asks, and she looks up at him with big eyes.

"About the egg…are you happy?" She asks, and he leans forward to kiss the top of her head.

"I am…and even though I thought I got used to the whole idea of you laying eggs, I guess it still blows my mind." He admits, and Rukia starts to smile.

"I am…hoping for a girl this time around." She says, and Ichigo nods.

"A girl will be nice." Ichigo agrees, even though he's more concerned about their living situation than anything.

"A boy would be fine too…it's just that…we don't have a girl." Rukia says quickly, and her husband nods his head in agreement as he gives his wife a loving look.

"I think Kaito will like having a little sister to look out for." He says, and Rukia grins.

"I can't wait until the day the egg hatches." She says softly, and Ichigo nods.

He decides now isn't the best time to bring up the fact that they can't keep living here if she keeps laying eggs like she has with the last two.

_One Month Later…_

Ichigo is pissed off. He has about six hours worth of homework to do, and his wife of course is as clueless as ever about why she needs to have good grades. He figures it's going to be up to him to support the entire family since Rukia clearly doesn't intend on taking up any human jobs.

He's sure his day can't get any worse as he quickens his step, forcing his wife to jog in order to keep up with him.

"Ichigo! Why are you making me run?" Rukia demands, and he sighs.

"Because I have a ton of homework, like you do!" He snaps, and Rukia laughs.

"Looking after our son happens to be more important to me!" She tells him, and Ichigo sighs.

"We're lucky the old man doesn't mind taking care of him as he works." Ichigo comments, and Rukia smiles.

"I don't have to keep going to school you know." She informs him, and he stops in his tracks.

"Yes you need to finish school." He says in a hard voice, and Rukia rolls her eyes.

"School sucks." Rukia informs him, and Ichigo scowls at her before he responds.

"Nevertheless! You have to finish!" He tells her, since he doesn't like the idea of finishing up school without her there with him.

He slows down a bit, so that she's no longer running, and they walk the rest of the way home in silence, until they reach the front door. Then they hear a sound like construction is going on, very close by.

_How am I supposed to concentrate on my homework with this racket?!_

"What is that?" Rukia asks curiously, and Ichigo shrugs.

"No clue." He says darkly, and Rukia raises an eyebrow.

"It sounds like it's coming from behind your house." She says, and his eyes widen as he realizes she's right.

"Damn it." Ichigo growls, and he walks around the house with Rukia right on his tail.

As they turn the corner, Ichigo stops in his tracks and Rukia bumps into him.

"Why did you stop?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo slaps his face in his hands.

"I don't believe it. The old man is adding onto the house." Ichigo grumbles, and Rukia's eyes light up.

"He must be making room since we have a second egg!" Rukia exclaims, and her husband throws her a dark look.

"Yeah…" Ichigo grumbles, as he once again tries to figure out how he'll get his homework done with all of the noise going on right outside the house.

"Isn't that a good thing, Ichigo?" Rukia asks with confusion, and he sighs.

"The addition to the house…is a good thing. The fact that all that noise is going on when I have a shit load of homework to do…makes me want to break something." Ichigo says darkly, and Rukia beams at him.

"What if I use my kidou to give you a quiet place to do your homework? Will you cheer up then?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo sighs.

"That would be very helpful…but I still have too much homework to cheer up." Ichigo sighs, and Rukia nods her head.

"Payment for quiet homework time will be accepted in the form of a kiss then." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo grabs her arm to pull her into the house and up to his room.

The moment they're there, he sets his schoolbag on his desk, and then turns around to pull his wife into his arms. Rukia sighs breathlessly as he kisses her passionately, making her knees go weak with his closeness, and with the feeling of her body being pressed up against his.

He doesn't rush it, he kisses her thoroughly, and when he finally pulls away, she blushes as she smiles at him. He finds himself smiling back, even though he doesn't relish the idea of doing his homework. Instead he looks forward to when he'll get to go to bed with her again.

"Thanks, Rukia." Ichigo says, and she takes a few steps back before she begins a chant underneath her breath.

Within moments, he's surrounded in a pleasant feeling barrier, since it has the feel of Rukia all around him, and the best part is that he can't hear any of the construction going on outside.

_Saying thanks just isn't enough._

Ichigo settles down to do his homework, and Rukia goes to collect Kaito from Isshin. She locates her baby with Isshin in his office in the clinic.

"Rukia-chan! Guess what I've decided to do?" He asks her in an excited voice as she lifts Kaito into her arms, who immediately smiles hugely at the sight of his beloved mother.

"Um…add on to your house?" Rukia guesses, just before she gives her son a kiss on his forehead.

"I was hoping to surprise you…" Isshin looks crestfallen, and Rukia gives him a wide eyed stare.

"Well the construction made it hard not to notice…" Rukia says to him, and Isshin smiles.

"I can't hear it in the clinic…I hadn't realized they were still out there." Isshin admits, and Rukia laughs.

"Well they are. I think it's wonderful though. I have to thank you." Rukia says, and Isshin grins.

"My second grandchild will soon be hatching! That's all the thanks I need! Lay as many eggs as you like, Rukia-chan!" Isshin says, giving her a thumbs up sign, and Rukia blushes.

Kaito reaches out and grabs his mother's hair, distracting her from the current conversation, and she turns her attention to him, as his other hand comes up and touches her cheek. He lets out a loud yell in her face, and Rukia winces from the volume of it.

"I think you got your lungs from your grandpa…" Rukia mutters as she heads out of Isshin's office, leaving him smiling like an idiot.

Kaito doesn't stop being noisy, and Rukia is glad she made Ichigo a soundproof area to do his work in, because their son has decided to exercise his lungs, as though he's agitated over something.

_Two Months Later…_

Rukia and Kaito are sitting by the egg, while Kaito struggles to get away from his mother. He wants to scoot around the floor and explore, but she's got a good grip on him, and after a few minutes of protest, he settles against her.

Rukia breathes a sigh of relief, since sometimes he can hold out longer than she can, especially since he is already a pro at scooting across his rear, and he has even experimented with crawling.

In a moment of silence, Rukia hears a cracking noise, and her eyes shift to the egg in the showcase, before she notices that the egg is shaking a bit. She quickly stands, and rushes to the foot of the stairs.

"Ichigo! It's hatching!" Rukia calls up, and then she hurries back to the egg case while she listens to the pounding of footsteps from all over the house.

In under thirty seconds, the entire Kurosaki family is standing around the case, and Kaito is not pleased that he is not the center of attention. He screeches loudly, and Ichigo pulls him out of his wife's arms. Kaito keeps staring at Rukia, who is fixated on the case, and that's when it happens.

"Mama!" Kaito speaks his first words, even as another crack appears down the length of the egg.

The shock of hearing her son speak, causes Rukia to swivel her head around with her mouth gaped open, and Ichigo is staring at his son too. Kaito looks awfully proud of himself, for having gained their attention, and smiles hugely at them, displaying his tiny baby teeth.

"I don't believe it…my baby just said mama!" Rukia squeals, but then Isshin's gasp catches her attention.

"Here we go!" He says excitedly, and Rukia's focused once again on the egg like everyone except for Kaito, who is frustrated that nobody is noticing him anymore.

"Mama! Mama! Mama!" Kaito shrieks, and Ichigo hoists his son up.

"How about calling out for me?!" He demands, but then movement catches his eyes, as he sees the egg fall apart into pieces.

"Ichigo! We have a little girl like we wanted!" Rukia says with pleasure, and Ichigo laughs.

"With hair to match her brother." He says, feeling bad that neither of his kids inherited Rukia's beautiful hair.

"Let me clean her up." Isshin says, with his eyes all googly as he admires his new granddaughter.

"What are you going to name her?" Yuzu asks excitedly, and Rukia smiles.

"I've been thinking about that since I laid the egg. And if it was a girl with hair like Ichigo's I decided I wanted to name her Akemi." Rukia says softly, and Ichigo smiles.

"Kaito and Akemi? I like it." He says, feeling extraordinarily lucky that they got the girl they wanted.

_I'm probably the only guy on earth that's married to a woman that lays eggs… _

**A/N-Akemi translates to bright and beautiful**


	102. As Requested: Immortal Isshin 10

**A/N-I was asked to continue the Immortal Isshin series, and it's dedicated to the ones that requested it.**

_Immortal Isshin 10_

Rukia appreciates that Yuzu has been around so much to help with Keiko and Taiki, but she suspects the reason for it, is because she's trying to take her mind off of Captain Ukitake. Unfortunately, Yuzu hasn't confided in anyone about her feelings, so Rukia hasn't been able to find a good opportunity to bring it up.

Rukia sits in a rocking chair with Keiko in her arms, and begins to breastfeed. She closes her eyes to think while her daughter nurses.

All she's been able to say, was that it seemed like Yuzu enjoyed dancing with her former captain at the double wedding. When she said it though, she saw Yuzu stiffen up, and that was when she knew, there was no hope of even asking about it.

"What's wrong Mom?" Takeshi surprises Rukia, and her eyes pop open.

Yachiru and Takeshi have come into the room, but their eyes aren't on her. Instead they're both by Taiki, and Takeshi reaches in the crib to pull his younger brother out.

"Nothing is wrong." Rukia says, and Takeshi raises an eyebrow at her.

"Come on Ma." He says with a bit of exasperation as he settles in the rocking chair next to Rukia's.

Yachiru sits on her husband's free knee and they both admire Taiki, careful to keep their eyes averted from Rukia's exposed breast, though Keiko isn't exactly nursing quietly.

"What?" Rukia asks, and her son glances quickly, looking her directly in the eyes before he looks back at his baby brother.

"I know when something is bothering you." Takeshi says, and Rukia sighs.

"It's women problems…that's all." Rukia finally relents, and she's grateful her son lets it go, just like his father would.

"Oh." Takeshi says, not willing to push the issue any further.

"Do the two of you mind going to get Ichigo? He's working far too late." Rukia says, and Takeshi grins.

"It's because you took the day off. He doesn't get much accomplished when you're not there and he has to stay late." Takeshi says, and Rukia frowns.

"Tell him to have the division members bring his work home, and we'll work on it together here then." Rukia commands, and Takeshi nods.

"Okay." He says, and he starts to take the baby with him.

"Wait." Rukia says, as she pulls Keiko away from her breast and pulls her robe back into place.

"What?" Takeshi asks, and Rukia holds Keiko out to Yachiru.

"Taiki hasn't nursed yet. You can take Keiko though." Rukia says, and Takeshi passes his brother to his mother.

Yachiru and Takeshi leave the nursery with Keiko, and Rukia settles back in the rocking chair with Taiki. She sighs as she pulls her breast out, and begins nursing him. She hasn't even been nursing for a full minute when Yuzu enters the nursery. She blushes when she sees Rukia breastfeeding, like she always does.

"I came by to see if you wanted me to watch the kids for awhile and let you have some time to yourself." Yuzu says with a shy smile, so because Rukia's expecting Ichigo home shortly, and because she wants a bath when she's done breastfeeding, she nods her head yes.

"Actually, you're a lifesaver. When Taiki is done with his meal, I'd like to take a bath…and then Ichigo will need help finishing up today's paperwork since I stayed home today." Rukia explains, and Yuzu smiles.

"I know. He was a mess all day without you. The whole division is used to it, whenever you're not there everyone tries extra hard to make things run smoothly." Yuzu explains, and Takara walks in the room with Kukiko.

"Everyone else has learned how to function acceptably when you're not there, except for Dad." Takara announces, since she heard her aunt's statement.

"I don't feel sorry for him, I offered to help, but he just snapped at me to get back to work. I'm not even sure he knew he was talking to me!" Kukiko says with her eyes flashing angrily.

"What are you girls up to? Do you want to hang out with your aunt and baby brother?" Rukia asks, and the girls start shaking their head no.

"We have plans with Grandma. We are all going to the spa together this evening." Takara explains, and Kukiko smiles.

"And before you ask, Kaori and Nariaki have plans with Grandpa." Kukiko says, and Rukia sighs.

"Oh a visit to the spa sounds nice…as soon as my babies are weaned, I'm going to go for a full day visit!" Rukia exclaims, and Kukiko smiles at her mother's look of pure envy.

"What's going on in here? A party?" Karin asks as she saunters in with her husband who takes one look at Rukia breastfeeding, and he quickly spins around and out of the room, causing everyone to laugh.

"Not exactly…" Rukia says, wondering how it is that a whole group of people has gathered while her breast is practically exposed.

This happened with the quintuplets too, but she had always thought it was because she spent an extraordinary amount of time breastfeeding since there were five of them. In the end, she had shocked Unohana at being able to provide for all of her quintuplets.

"Where is Keiko?" Karin asks, peering around, and Rukia grins.

"Takeshi and Yachiru have her. They should be back soon if Ichigo doesn't give them too hard a time." Rukia says, and Karin laughs.

"You said Takeshi's wife is with him? He won't be long at all if that's the case. She can always clear an office if she wants to." Karin says, as she remembers the time she was strolling past the Eleventh Division offices, and witnessed the tiny pink haired Shinigami force her captain to leave the office, even though he appeared to be dead he was so deep asleep.

"I believe it." Kukiko says immediately, but Rukia shakes her head.

"Kukiko. Takara. I want you two to promise me that when the twins are weaned, you'll watch them while Yuzu-chan and I go to the same spa that you're going to enjoy going to tonight." Rukia says, and the girls immediately nod their heads in agreement.

After a minute, Karin, Kukiko, and Takara all stroll out of the nursery chatting, and Yuzu smiles.

"It will be fun to do the spa with you!" Yuzu says energetically, happy to have an excuse to request a day off at the same time as the lieutenant in their division.

Ichigo walks in the room, and the scowl he was wearing as he entered disintegrates when he sees his wife feeding his youngest son.

"I admit I didn't think you'd make it back before I finished feeding Taiki." Rukia says with a grin, and Ichigo smirks at her.

"Are you kidding me? Takeshi and Yachiru marched into my office holding Keiko with four division members behind them. Takeshi started handing my work over to the members who immediately moved it work out of my office. Then Yachiru told me you were feeding Taiki, and I rushed here ahead of the work." Ichigo says with a spark in his eyes, and Rukia shakes her head.

Taiki finishes up his meal, and Rukia passes him to Ichigo and leans forward to kiss her husband after he has Taiki.

"I need a shower. Then we'll get the work done." She tells him, and he presses a hard kiss against her cheek after she says that and brushes his lips against her ear.

"And after that…we can get dirty in the bedroom," Her husband says with a growl, and Rukia chuckles at that.

"Yuzu-chan offered to watch the babies, so we'll only be interrupted when they need to nurse." She tells him before she leaves the room.

Ichigo grins at his sister, and sits in the rocking chair with Taiki.

"Thanks for watching the kids for us. You've been so helpful. I feel bad though…" Ichigo trails off, and wonders if he should say anything.

"You feel bad for me?" Yuzu says with a look of surprise, and Ichigo feels himself getting hot under the collar.

"You know…like I'm keeping you from meeting someone that you could fall in love with…and start a family with." Ichigo says in a low voice, and he doesn't look his sister in the face.

Yuzu blushes though at his words, and she bites her lip.

_I try not to think about that…I don't want to have a family with anyone other than Captain Ukitake…and I've only danced with him at the wedding._

"I appreciate you worrying about me, but I'm okay." Yuzu says, managing to keep any hint of pain out of her voice.

"Thanks for helping us out so much." Ichigo says, and Yuzu smiles at him, but he feels like it's a sad smile.

_One Week Later…_

Rukia decides she has to give her former captain a chance at seeing Yuzu's affection for him, and since Yuzu has been staying at the manor rather than the Fifth Division lodgings, it seems like a simple dinner could be the way to open the door. She already knows Captain Ukitake would never dream of hurting Yuzu's feelings, and she wonders how he'd react if he caught Yuzu's adoring gaze on him. Rukia is certain Yuzu can't keep hiding her feelings perfectly forever.

"I'm going to make my rounds." Ichigo says, standing up, expecting his wife to join him as they check on what's going on in the division.

"I'm going to go and visit Captain Ukitake. I might invite him to dinner." Rukia says, and Ichigo opens the door and sees his daughter.

"Kukiko! You and your sister need to stay with the babies, while I make my rounds, and your mother goes to visit Ukitake-san." Ichigo says, and Kukiko quickly heads inside.

"Thanks, hon." Rukia says gratefully, and Kukiko smiles.

"No problem." Kukiko assures her mother, and Rukia smiles.

"Don't worry, I shouldn't be gone all that long. I don't want to bother Captain Ukitake if he's busy." Rukia assures Kukiko, and her daughter grins.

"It's okay Mom. Take your time, I love the babies." Kukiko says, and Rukia smiles fondly at her daughter.

"Thanks again." Rukia says, before she steps to her husband and yanks his head down forcefully to kiss him.

Kukiko laughs as her father grabs up her mother, and he kisses her back before they release each other, breathing hard. Kukiko is always amazed that they still seem like they've recently fallen in love.

"See you later Rukia." Ichigo says, and Rukia nods before she flies out the door.

She hurries to find Yuzu, to make sure she'll be over for dinner, since it would defeat the purpose if Yuzu made plans with any of her friends, even though most of her friends are dating or married, and busy with their own romances. Rukia has always been fond of both of his sisters, and has wanted happiness for them both.

_Even her sister…I really want to help Yuzu!_

Rukia finds Yuzu assisting a new member with kidou, and she smiles before she walks over, and gains their attention.

"Excuse us." Rukia says to the new girl, and Yuzu nods at the girl before walking away with Rukia to talk.

"Is something wrong?" Yuzu asks, and Rukia shakes her head no.

"You're going to be over at dinner tonight aren't you?" Rukia asks, and Yuzu grins.

"Of course! Are you preparing a special meal?" Yuzu asks, and Rukia's eyes light up.

"Oh yes. I was hoping you would be there to enjoy it since you've always made such tasty meals for me in the past." Rukia says with a smile, and Yuzu nods her head with a soft smile.

"I will definitely be there for dinner." Yuzu says, and Rukia smiles hugely at her sister-in-law.

"Great, I'll see you later." Rukia says, and she summons a hell butterfly as she hurries towards the Thirteenth Division offices.

_Later…_

Rukia isn't surprised that Takeshi has decided to take his wife out for dinner. They are newlyweds, and they only eat dinner at the house two to three times a week.

Kukiko and Takara are off doing some top secret training, and they won't eat until later. Kaori and Nariaki have plans to meet up with some buddies from Fifth Division at a bar, so they won't be around either.

Most importantly, Isshin has taken Masaki for a few weeks to the Royal Dimension, claiming they'd be back soon. Toushirou and Karin usually go to his grandmother's house in Rukongai to eat dinner, so it's going to be a fairly cozy meal.

Rukia took great care, and has essentially planned a feast, knowing by morning it will probably gone with the way her family consumes food. Even her own appetite over the years has increased beyond what it ever used to be.

She isn't sure if there will be any surprise guests. All of their friends know they're welcome to pop in unannounced, along with Kenpachi. She hopes that tonight, they don't have a lot of surprise guests, so that she can see if Captain Ukitake sees anything at all when in Yuzu's presence, without the distraction of a lot of other people to keep him from noticing.

"Okay Keiko…I know you're hungry." Rukia says to her fussy daughter, before she pulls her out to begin nursing.

Taiki starts to fuss too, but Rukia only nurses one infant at a time. This session, she's not interrupted, and she finishes up, making good time. The twins both drift off into sleep, and Rukia turns her baby monitor on.

_Please sleep for several hours._

Rukia heads to the kitchens to make sure dinner will still be served on time, since she's expecting Captain Ukitake to arrive shortly. When she gets there, she finds everything is still set to go on as she had scheduled it to go.

She paces around for ten minutes, until she hears someone at the door, and she silently hopes it's Captain Ukitake and not anyone else. She smiles hugely when she sees that it is him, and suddenly the wheels in her brain start to turn as she comes up with an interesting idea. She already realizes she'll have to sit very close to Ichigo all night long so that she can pinch him whenever necessary.

_I will definitely need his help…even if he doesn't know about his sister's attraction for Captain Ukitake!_

When Rukia sees that it is indeed her former captain who was at the door, she beams at him with a huge smile.

"I'm so happy you agreed to join us for dinner, Captain Ukitake!" Rukia says happily, and she can feel her husband approaching the two of them as well.

"It was thoughtful of you to invite me." Ukitake says, smiling at his former subordinate.

"You are always welcome…I thought you knew that." Rukia says, hoping he'll start showing up more frequently.

_Yuzu would like that…_

"I think I knew, but now that you've said that I'll have to take you up on your offer." Ukitake says, and Rukia nods her head in agreement.

"Please do." She says, and then her husband enters their vision.

"Ukitake-san." Ichigo says with a grin, and Ukitake smiles back.

"Hi Ichigo-kun. I was happy to accept your wife's invitation to dinner." Ukitake says with a bow, and Ichigo nods.

"I'm glad you could make it." Ichigo says warmly, and Rukia can't stop smiling.

_So far…so good._

They lead Ukitake to the dining area, where hors d'oeuvres are already set out, and Rukia starts to wonder when Yuzu will arrive.

"Would you like some sake?" Rukia asks, and Ukitake nods.

"That does sound good, thank you." Ukitake says, and Rukia stands to go get their best bottle of sake.

When Rukia gets back, she pours sake for Ukitake, her husband, and herself, but Ichigo sees her hesitate as though she's ready to pour a fourth glass.

"Are we expecting anyone else?" He asks, and Rukia nods.

"I was expecting Yuzu-chan to join us." Rukia says, and Ichigo nods.

"I think she's already here. When I heard someone at the door, I was sure I saw her checking on the kids in the nursery." Ichigo says, and Rukia wonders how she missed seeing Yuzu since she'd gone to the front room straight from the nursery.

_It must have been while I was pacing around in the front._

"Let me go and get her then, so that she can enjoy some sake with us." Rukia says, and Ukitake grins.

"You're taking Urahara's medicine that doesn't allow it into your breast milk aren't you?" He asks, and Rukia grins.

"So many women in Soul Society are eternally grateful to him for developing this drug. I'll be right back, excuse me." Rukia says, and she hurries out of the dining area and towards the nursery.

Rukia does not find Yuzu in the nursery, but she checks on the children while she's there, and they are both sleeping soundly. When she does spot her sister-in-law, she is coming out of the bathroom, and it's obvious she was straightening up her appearance.

"Rukia-chan…" Yuzu says, and her sister-in-law smiles at her.

"I was just looking for you. Would you like to join Ichigo, Captain Ukitake, and myself in some sake?" Rukia asks, and Yuzu nods her head.

"I'd be delighted." Yuzu practically whispers, and the two women head back to the dining area together.

Upon entering the dining area, they find Ichigo and Ukitake laughing at whatever Ukitake had said just before they got in. They look up when they see the two women enter, and Rukia quickly makes sure everyone has sake, before she settles next to Ichigo.

With Isshin gone, Yuzu is a bit less reserved on how much she pays attention to Rukia's former captain. It seems it was a good idea to invite him, because whenever he's talking, Yuzu is free to look at him without worrying someone will notice her attraction for him. Of course she's completely unaware that her sister-in-law has already figured out her little secret and has known for some time.

Rukia keeps an eye out for her chance to put her plan into action, and it's easy for her to see the way Yuzu is looking at Captain Ukitake with adoration, but both her husband and her former captain seem oblivious to Yuzu's adoring stare.

It isn't until dinner is finished and the second bottle of sake is opened that Rukia makes her move.

"Captain Ukitake, I had no idea you were such a superb dancer. You certainly looked talented when you danced with Yuzu-chan." Rukia says, and she doesn't miss the way Yuzu's cheeks turn pink at her declaration.

Ukitake nods his head and smiles at Rukia at her observation.

"Dancing makes me feel refreshed and alive. I enjoy dancing." He says, and Rukia smiles.

"The truth is, I'd like to be a better dancer, for when Ichigo and I renew our wedding vows. Maybe the two of you could assist us." Rukia says in a low voice, and Yuzu's cheeks go from pink to red.

"Help you?" She echoes, and Rukia nods.

"You know…teach us all of the dances." Rukia says, and Yuzu's heart is pounding in her ears.

Rukia knows as she observes Ichigo's sister that she loves the idea of being Ukitake's dance partner to teach them.

"Well…I'm not the very best dancer in the world…perhaps someone else should partner with Captain Ukitake to teach you." Yuzu says, not wanting to make an ass of herself in front of the captain she's crushing so fiercely over.

"I'd prefer it was you. I'd feel more comfortable if it were you." Rukia says, and Ukitake just nods his head.

"I'd be happy to teach you, and perhaps Yuzu-chan can learn a bit more while we're at it." He says with a friendly smile, and Rukia smiles, even as she glances at her husband, who is giving her a strange look.

"What?" Rukia asks him, but he just shakes his head.

"If you really want to learn then I won't argue the point." He says, and Rukia smiles.

"That's a good thing." Rukia says, and Ichigo just shakes his head.

_I don't know why but it feels like my wife is up to something._

Rukia watches as Ukitake glances at Yuzu and catches her in the middle of staring at him with big adoring eyes. Rukia holds her breath a moment.

_Has he figured it out?_

Rukia can only smile when she imagines what Isshin will be like when he comes back and finds his only single daughter is interested in Captain Ukitake.

"They'll be married before you know it." Rukia mutters under her breath, and her husband taps her arm.

"What did you just say?" He asks curiously, but his wife just shakes her head.

"Nothing." Rukia says it with a smile.

Before Ukitake leaves, Rukia arranges for him to come over the very next night, to start their dancing lessons, and she doesn't fail to notice how Yuzu appears to be completely ecstatic at the turn of events.

_Please let them figure it out soon! Before Ichigo's father comes back!_

Rukia's thoughts go to any ideas she can come up with to throw her former captain and Ichigo's only single sister together so that they become a couple.

_The Next Night…_

Yuzu's cheeks are flushed as Captain Ukitake pulls her closer for the next dance.

_It's like a beautiful and wonderful dream that I never want to wake up from! Being here in his arms is…perfect!_

Rukia can tell how much Ichigo's sister is enjoying being Captain Ukitake's dance partner as he teaches them, and she decides to push it a little further.

"Captain Ukitake, do you know any dances that Ichigo and I can be closer together for as we dance?" Rukia asks, and Yuzu's eyes widen before she blinks a couple of times after hearing that.

"Closer?" Ukitake asks, and Rukia nods her head yes.

"Ichigo and I like to be close to one another…wait….you don't mind do you Yuzu-chan?" Rukia asks, and Yuzu still looks a little shocked even as she shakes her head no that she doesn't mind.

Ukitake starts demonstrating a dance where his and Yuzu's chests are touching it's so intimate, and after several steps, he dips Ichigo's sister back, and his face is so close to hers that she reacts without thinking.

Ichigo's mouth falls open as his sister presses her lips against Ukitake's lips, and Rukia can't stop smiling. Ukitake also seems a bit shocked as he pulls away and pulls her into a standing position. Yuzu is bright red as everyone stares at her, and she rushes out of the room.

"What in the hell just happened?" Ichigo asks in a hoarse voice as Ukitake hurries after his sister.

Rukia smiles so hard her face starts to hurt, and then she starts to chuckle.

"Trust you to ask a silly question like that." Rukia says, before she starts laughing harder, but Ichigo looks like he seriously doesn't understand.

"Yuzu has never done anything like that before!" Ichigo insists, and Rukia smiles.

"Maybe she couldn't help herself." Rukia says with a knowing smile, and Ichigo sputters for a moment.

"Hey!" He says in a weak protest as his wife walks out of the room with a certain bounce in her step.

_A Few Weeks Later…_

When Isshin and Masaki return to Soul Society, he hurries to his son's manor to greet the family. He has missed his children and grandchildren in the short time that he and his wife have been away.

There isn't one member of the Kurosaki family that isn't satisfied to see the look on Isshin's face when he sees Ukitake and Yuzu standing so close to one another, smiling and focused only on each other.

For once, Isshin is one of the last to find out about someone falling in love within his family. Ichigo is particularly amused as he watches the shock register on his father's face.

_That's right old man…you can't take credit for this one. Only Rukia can take credit on hooking up Yuzu and Ukitake-san._


	103. As Requested: Drunken Confessions 2

**A/N- I had a request a while back to do a continuation of Drunken Confessions, but that same person had also requested a continuation of Baby Shoes. I'm finally getting around to doing the second request from back then, and it's dedicated to the ones that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Drunken Confessions 2_

Ichigo feels like his entire body is on fire, because with Rukia massaging him, it only makes him more and more aware of her touch. The whole time she's been massaging him, he's only been able to think one thing.

_I won't tell her I'm in love with her damn it!_

Despite the fact that he doesn't want to confess, he is forced to accept one thing without denial. Nothing feels better than her touching him. He doesn't want her to stop. He finally thinks something new.

_If she does stop, I'm going to offer to massage her. Will she like it as much as me? I hope so._

Wondering this makes him nervous. He knows he's unlike his friends at school who can make out with any girl that's willing. For him to let someone this close to him, there has to be an unbelievable amount of trust. He can't even imagine sharing something as intimate as a kiss with just any girl.

He has never declared as much to his peers, how much he values intimacy and the people one chooses to share that with, but if any other girl were massaging him, he's sure he wouldn't have the feelings he has with Rukia perched on his butt.

She is taking the opportunity to admire the strength of his back, which is visible just by looking. Touching him, rubbing his skin makes her feel really good, since it isn't often she has the opportunity to touch him like this, and she likes hearing him sigh in contentment as she rubs away the tension and stress built up in his back.

_He was really on edge after Inoue tried to throw herself at him, but it seems like he's finally managing to relax a bit._

"Is this helping?" Rukia asks softly, and Ichigo moans in response before he actually answers her.

"Yeah…you're really good at this." Ichigo tells her before he exhales deeply.

Rukia smiles, since it seems like he's in no hurry for her to pull her hands away from him. It makes her really happy to know he doesn't want her to stop yet.

_That makes two of us._

When she starts to work on his lower back, he moans happily in response, and so she continues at it, while also applying a bit of healing reiatsu into her hands as she does.

Ichigo doesn't think he's ever felt anything quite as nice as what he's feeling on his lower back with her combination of massage and healing reiatsu at the same time. All of the pain he was feeling earlier has disappeared, and his back feels ready for whatever fight he'll be thrown into next. All because of Rukia's healing hands.

Because of all of the relaxing pleasure she's bringing him, he falls asleep as she massages him, and she notices shortly after. She isn't at first sure what to do, whether or not she should get out of bed and go camp in his closet, or if she should lay next to him, just in case Inoue comes back.

Rukia bites her lip, but she finally decides that she'll stay with him. She scoots off of him, and settles on the window side of the bed, but it's a small bed. The moment she scoots into place, he opens one eye, but it doesn't register in his head precisely what has happened. All he knows is that Rukia is next to him, and he throws an arm over her before he settles back into his sleep.

Her eyes widen at his immediate gesture…even if she were inclined to change her mind about where she should have slept, she's stuck next to him now, because he's got her firmly around the middle. Not that she doesn't like it, it feels really nice to have him holding her, and she finds herself drifting off to sleep much quicker than she typically does.

Rukia's worry about Inoue coming back was not unfounded though. Inoue does indeed manage to make it back. Rukia's high level binding spell works quite well until the early hours of the morning. When Inoue wakes up, she finds herself in unfamiliar territory, and as she makes her way out of the room she was put in, she realizes she's at the Kurosaki residence.

She can't help herself. She has to see him. She quietly makes her way up the stairs and down the hallway towards Ichigo's reiatsu. She is aware that Kuchiki-san sleeps in his closet, so she's not put off from her mission when she senses the reiatsu of the dark haired Shinigami.

_This time I won't chicken out. This time I really will kiss Kurosaki-kun._

Inoue turns the knob and lets herself into the semi dark room. She can see the back of Kurosaki-kun's head as it appears he's facing his window, in a curled up type position.

_He isn't on his back this time…_

She moves to the bedside, and immediately realizes that the man she wants to kiss is curled up, spooning with her rival. It's more than she can stand. Of course she can't kiss him while he's sleeping with another woman, that is not at all what she imagined when she snuck into his room in the first place.

_Why does he have to be with Kuchiki-san? Why does he have to hold her like that?_

"Rukia…" Ichigo's voice is painfully clear to Inoue, who flinches from the sound of it.

Her whole body jerks, and her face twists up into an unpleasant expression as she forces herself to keep quiet, and to keep them from noticing her presence.

_Why does he have to call out her name like that? Why doesn't he feel so much for her when I love him more than I can even begin to explain? Why does his love have to be so obvious to me?_

Inoue turns away when she sees the man she loves, is beginning to gently rub her rival's belly, in a loving manner. All she wants is to get out of the room, out of the house, and off of his street. She turns on her heel and hurries to the door, silently opening it.

As she's about to slip out, she stops in her tracks when she sees Ichigo's father standing there with a huge grin on his face and his arms crossed.

"Uh…" Inoue trails off, knowing that there is nothing she can actually say in this moment to explain herself.

"What kind of idiot is my son, not walking you to the front door?!" Isshin asks, and as he's about to slide around her, she quickly steps back and blocks Ichigo's door with her arms.

"He…didn't know I was there." Inoue whispers in an anxious voice, which makes Isshin raise his eyebrows and give her a stare.

"That doesn't sound right to me. What were you doing in my son's room then?" Isshin asks in a voice that makes her start to tremble in fear.

"I didn't do anything, I just looked in on him, that's all." Inoue says, holding up her hands to keep from being judged too harshly, but Isshin gives her a dubious look.

"If you're not helping him become a man then I'd prefer if you weren't sneaking into his room at night." Isshin says in a serious tone, that makes Inoue turn bright red.

"Sorry!" She says, before she dashes around him, and down the stairs. She nearly trips, but she grabs the railing just in time and catches her footing before she flies to her face.

Isshin stares after her, not really sure what to believe. He wonders if she was covering for his son, and so he turns back to his son's room and walks inside.

He doesn't notice his son isn't alone at first, until he walks over next to the bed. While his son appears to be shirtless, Rukia-chan is still dressed, so Isshin doesn't think that his son has become a man yet, but he does understand why the other girl left.

Isshin grins before he leaves the room.

_And he tries to act like he isn't in love with her._

The way his son had been holding Rukia-chan though, says differently. Isshin can't wait to bust his son's balls over this in the morning.

_In The Morning…_

When Ichigo wakes up, he immediately realizes that something is different. He's not alone, and he instantly recognizes the hairdo of the girl he's holding in his arms.

_Rukia…_

He really doesn't know what to make of it. He remembers her rubbing his back the night before, but he doesn't remember much else. He also realizes that his hand is dangerously close to her breasts, and he isn't sure what to do with himself.

_What if she wakes up and is angry with me?_

He realizes quite suddenly that he slept very well…better than what he normally sleeps when he's alone. He's sure it has everything to do with the fact that he fell asleep holding Rukia, and with this, he knows he doesn't want to keep his feelings in the dark forever.

_I want to hold her like this again…if I have to tell her how I feel to do it, then I will._

He slowly moves his hand off of her, and he ends up with an arousal in the process. He stays frozen in place thinking of very nonsexual things in order to rid himself of the erection. After a few minutes, he's finally successful.

He manages to get out of bed without waking her up, and he silently opens his drawer to put on a clean tee-shirt before he has a sudden horrible realization.

_Pops hasn't tried to hit or kick me yet this morning! Why!? Did he come in and find me in bed with Rukia?!_

That very thought is enough to send chills of discomfort down his spine. He isn't even completely sure of how he and Rukia came to be sleeping in the same bed. He doesn't want any fucked up questions from his father.

He walks over to the bed, and puts his hand on her shoulder, and shakes her gently.

"Rukia…wake up." He orders her in a low voice, and to his surprise, her eyes open immediately.

She looks up at him, and remembers how she fell asleep in his bed, and she begins to blush. He's staring straight at her, but instead of looking accusing, he starts to blush too.

"I…didn't know what to do once I realized you fell asleep while I was massaging you last night, and I decided to stay with you in case Inoue decided to come back." Rukia quickly explains, and Ichigo makes a face at the mention of Inoue's name, but he simply nods his head, even though his face still feels hot.

"It's okay…I slept well...better than usual." He says, but he averts his eyes to tell her so.

Rukia smiles as she sits up, and he turns his back to her while he stresses over whether or not his father has already spotted them in bed together.

"I slept well too." Rukia says, and he turns his head to the side to look at her out of the corner of his eyes.

"Maybe from now on…" Ichigo trails off, and Rukia can see the back of his neck is dark red.

He hurries out of the room before she can question him, and she can feel her mouth hanging open.

_He was going to tell me to sleep here from now on with him…was that his way of proposing to me? Why didn't he finish what he was saying?_

Rukia scrunches up her eyebrows as she tries to figure out Ichigo's confusing behavior. When she stands up, she sees her dress is completely wrinkled, and she hurries to the closet to change.

She stays inside of the closet in case Ichigo comes back because they've already dealt with the embarrassment of her sharing his bed this morning. No need to add on him catching her in the act of changing, since she's still on edge from what Ichigo chose not to say to her. She chooses a blue and pink dress.

She makes her way down to the table before him, since he went to the bathroom rather than heading downstairs, and she gets a bad feeling in her stomach when she sees the way Isshin is looking at her. It's as though he can barely contain his excitement.

"How did you sleep, Rukia-chan?" Isshin asks, and Rukia can feel her face heating up from the suggestive manner in which he asked.

"Very well, thank you." Rukia says, as she looks at him, and he just keeps smiling hugely at her.

"I'm happy to hear it! Where is my idiot son?" He asks, and Rukia shrugs her shoulders daintily as Karin walks into the kitchen next.

"Ichi-ni is in the bathroom." Karin announces, and Isshin just nods, even though he can't stop smiling.

"Here you go, Rukia-chan!" Yuzu says as she places a plate containing a large breakfast for Rukia down in front of her.

"Thanks." Rukia says, as she picks up her fork and observes all of the options on her plate.

She starts with the items she likes best, and she slowly begins working on her breakfast, even as Isshin and Karin are served immediately after her.

Ichigo appears right as Yuzu is setting down a plate for him, and she hurries to make up her own plate, while Isshin eyes his son with glee. Rukia has noticed that Ichigo hasn't made eye contact with his father since he entered the kitchen, and she hopes it doesn't get too embarrassing. She picks up her pace to eat as much as she can before her appetite is spoiled.

"How did you sleep, Ichigo?" Isshin asks, and his son turns bright red before he glares at his father.

"It was nice to wake up for once without you yelling or attempting to kill me." Ichigo says in a snappy tone, and his father doesn't miss a beat.

"I couldn't do that with Rukia-chan sleeping in your bed could I?" He asks, getting a gasp from all of the ladies at the table.

Ichigo leaps over the table and tackles his father who falls backwards in his chair and to the ground from his son's sudden reaction. The chair busts into pieces as Ichigo lays into his father with his fists. Yuzu and Karin sigh in exasperation, while Rukia wipes her face, seeing as how she's lost her appetite. She gets up and heads upstairs.

"You fucking bastard!" Ichigo hisses at his father, who raises an eyebrow.

"It's a good thing she stayed with you. I caught Orihime-chan sneaking out of your room last night." Isshin informs his son in a low voice, which ends their scuffle.

Ichigo finally notices that Rukia has disappeared, and he wonders about it, so he goes to find her. When he does, she's sitting on his bed, and staring out the window.

"Rukia?" Ichigo asks, and she turns to face him with a pained expression.

"Maybe I didn't make such a good decision in deciding to stay here with you last night, I'm sorry Ichi-" Rukia is cut off by Ichigo sitting down on the bed next to her and clapping his hand over her mouth.

"If you hadn't…it wouldn't have been good. Plus…my old man left me alone with you here. Only good things came out of it." Ichigo says, and Rukia gives him a look of confusion.

"Why wouldn't it have been good if I hadn't stayed?" She asks curiously, and Ichigo turns his head away.

"My old man just informed me that he caught Inoue sneaking out of my room last night. You didn't know about that, did you?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia shakes her head no with wide eyes.

"I used a high level binding spell to put her to sleep, I wonder how she woke up before we did." Rukia says, her voice showing her surprise, and Ichigo shakes his head.

"I don't know, but she did. I'm glad you were with me, otherwise there's no telling what she might have done." He tells her as he shudders visibly.

"So you prefer me to Inoue." Rukia says softly, and Ichigo glances at her since it didn't sound like a question.

"I prefer you to any other girl." He tells her in a low fervent voice, and when she puts her arms around him to hug him, he feels himself smiling.

_Before the end of the day, I'll be able to tell her everything, including how she's sleeping with me from here on out._


	104. As Requested: Teaching Our Son

**A/N- I had a request to do another chapter with Ichigo, Rukia, and little Ichirou from chapter 90. It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Teaching Our Son_

Rukia is unsure of why Ichigo bought all kinds of different children's cartoons for Ichirou to watch, particularly since they're in English. She looks at the stack of videos, and then looks at her son.

_I bet he doesn't even understand this language. Did Ichigo know these were in English when he bought them? He had to have known!_

She waits for her husband to walk through the door from work before she mauls him.

"Ichigo!" Rukia shouts, and she leaps into her husband's arms.

Their son, not to be outdone, latches onto his father's leg, and sits on his foot, firmly attached, making it so that Ichigo has to lift his son's weight along with his own leg if he chooses to move.

"Hi Rukia." Ichigo says, since he's used to this kind of greeting.

He refuses to admit it, but he loves it when she throws herself into his arms like she does everyday when he gets home from work. It's a nice change from the Rukia she used to be, only kicking or hitting him in greeting.

"Daddy!" Ichirou yells, and Ichigo sighs.

"Hi Ichirou." Ichigo says next, and he waits for his wife to let go, but she doesn't.

Ichigo carefully takes both his wife and his son over to the couch where he sits down, and adjusts Rukia so that she's sitting on one knee, and Ichirou scrambles up onto his other knee. As a father and husband, he feels his heart swell up in pride at the two beautiful dark haired people who mean more to him than anyone else. His wife and son.

"Ichigo…are you aware that you bought cartoons that are all in English over the weekend?" His wife asks him suddenly, and Ichigo nods.

"Yeah. I did that purposely. I ordered them through the video store, so that Ichirou can start learning English. School will be easier for him if he starts learning it as early as possible." Ichigo explains, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"Why didn't you say so!? I could have been speaking to him in English this whole time!" His wife says, and Ichigo's eyes widen.

"You can speak English?" He asks in shock, and Rukia nods her head.

"Over the past forty years, I have learned how to speak twenty different languages in order to do my job as a Shinigami. My brother is fluent in every language currently spoken on earth." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo looks amazed.

"Really?" He asks her in awe, and his son begins to smack his cheeks.

"Cartoon!" Ichirou demands, and Rukia gets off of Ichigo's lap to put in one with a gray and white rabbit on the cover.

"Bugs Bunny?" Rukia asks softly with a big smile on her face and her husband rolls his eyes.

_How did I know she'd go for that one first?_

"You can read English too?" He says with surprise, and Rukia nods.

"But learning new languages these days isn't really heard of anymore. I do it because I'm a Kuchiki. Like my brother, I intend to learn every known language. But for missions in an area where a Shinigami does not know the language, they are given a device created by the Twelfth Division that translates for the Shinigami in place of them having to actually know the language." Rukia explains, and Ichigo glares at her.

"You aren't a fucking Kuchiki." Ichigo growls, and his wife blushes as she approaches him.

"You aren't a fucking Kuchiki!" Ichirou says, imitating his father, causing Rukia to give Ichigo a dirty look.

"It's my maiden name!" She says defensively, and she crosses her arms before she sits down next to him rather than his lap, and Ichirou moves over to her lap rather than Ichigo's.

"It bothers me every time I hear you say that. You haven't been a Kuchiki in over four years now." Ichigo says with annoyance.

"Ichigo…it isn't like that in Soul Society. Once you're associated to nobility by blood or marriage, you don't lose that connection just because you're married. You are aware that in Soul Society, my name is Kuchiki-Kurosaki Rukia. I am still a Kuchiki, you need to understand that." She says in a firm voice, and Ichigo makes a face.

He'd forgotten that she'd hyphenated the names when they got married in Soul Society. She'd dropped the Kuchiki name in the living world, but she'd kept in in Soul Society. He thinks he probably wanted to forget it, but because it was their first marriage, he'd been willing to let her do whatever she wanted, so long as they wound up married in the end.

She had seen the hurt look in his eyes when he'd been told that she'd be keeping the Kuchiki name in Soul Society, and she'd immediately cheered him up by telling him she would not be keeping it in the living world.

_The Soul Society name will come back to haunt me. She is bound by that fucking name._

"The Kuchiki clan has another thing coming if they're going to rule your life when we get there. I won't let them Rukia." Ichigo tells her as the opening credits end and the rabbit cartoon begins.

"There is nothing wrong with wanting to learn all of the languages. Just because it's not something you'd want to do, doesn't mean I should stop aspiring to be the model Shinigami that the Kuchiki-clan expects me to be." Rukia tells him.

Ichigo refuses to respond, because a big happy smile breaks out on Rukia's face as she watches the rabbit fuck around with the hunter of the video.

"Eh….what's up doc?" Comes from the television and Rukia looks engrossed.

_She is a model Shinigami. Doesn't she already realize that? I admire no Shinigami more than her. She embodies everything that is good._

_On the bright side, if she knows all of the languages, I'll just make her my lieutenant, and I'll never have any need for one of those device thingies that would make me look so ignorant. I'll always have Rukia around. I'll never let her go._

Ichigo watches his wife and son laugh merrily over the video, and then he realizes that she is talking softly to Ichirou in English.

"Rabbit…or Bugs Bunny." Rukia says softly, and their son seems avidly interested in the new video.

Ichigo is beyond horrified that his son has inherited his wife's love for rabbits. He fervently hopes his son likes the Yogi Bear video he bought for him too. Rabbits are too girly.

_Later…_

"Come on, I'm taking you two out for dinner." Ichigo says in a rough voice, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"Really, Ichigo?" Rukia asks, and her husband nods his head.

"I don't feel like cooking tonight…so yeah." He says, and Rukia grins.

"I'll go change!" She says, before she grabs up Ichirou and pushes him into his father's arms.

Ichigo knows that if she doesn't do this, their son will follow her wherever she goes, and so he hangs on tight while his son reaches his arms out in the direction that Rukia is running off to.

"Give your ma a break for once, buddy." Ichigo says as he stares at his son with fascination. He knows he was also like his son, always around his mother, but he completely does not expect for his son to reach back and smack him across the face.

"Down." Ichirou says in an angry voice, and Ichigo blinks a few times at his son.

He had decided long ago, that he wouldn't be like his father, trying to kill his son and all, but at the moment, he'd really like to bend the little brat over his knee, since the stinging hasn't stopped.

"Do not hit daddy." Ichigo says in a firm voice as he sets his son down on his own two feet and grabs firmly at his hands.

Ichirou takes one look at Ichigo's pissed off serious face, and his big blue eyes begin to well up with tears.

"I want Mama!" Ichirou shrieks, and Ichigo doesn't let his son go.

"You wouldn't want me to hit you, right?" Ichigo asks his son quite seriously.

Ichirou seems to sense that it would not be pleasant, to be hit by his father, so he begins to shake his head no.

"No…" Ichirou says, with tears rolling down his face.

"Go and sit down on that chair right there, until I give you permission to get up." Ichigo says in the same angry and firm voice that has gotten his son all teary, and he lets go.

His son doesn't dare disobey. He climbs into the chair and watches his father nervously. Rukia walks back in the room to see her son crying, and a bright red mark on her husband's face. She raises her eyebrows, but Ichigo is too busy admiring her dress.

"Ichigo?" Rukia asks, and he grins at her.

"You look the same as you did when I first met you." Ichigo says, with a wide eyed look of appreciation.

"Is everything okay?" Rukia asks, as she touches his cheek where it's red, and Ichigo shakes his head at his pretty wife.

"Ichirou was just testing his boundaries. I think I got through to him that he's not allowed to hit me." He says, as he glances over at his son who appears to be itching to get down and go to his mother, but he's still afraid of his father's temper.

"Well that's good." Rukia says with a smile, and Ichigo kisses her before he looks back at his son again.

"You can get up now." He says, and Rukia grins as Ichirou runs over and hugs her legs.

"You cannot hit people." Rukia tells him in English, and her son looks up at her with big eyes, as he tries to comprehend what she just said.

"You're going to be speaking English a lot in front of him now, aren't you?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia nods her head.

"If it will help him, then that's what I'll do." She says, and Ichigo grins.

_She may not know much about parenting, but once I explain stuff to her, she always works hard to participate and help get things done. She's good at teaching our son._


	105. As Requested: Baby Shoes 4

**A/N- I had a request to continue Baby Shoes, after the baby is born, so here it is, it's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Baby Shoes 4_

Isshin waits anxiously for Rukia to be released from the hospital, so that they can take her back home, along with his new grandson, who was only born three days ago. He has the house ready, and all he needs is the new mother and child to come to make it a full house again.

Ichigo went into Rukia's room, and barred his father from entering, just in case Rukia was breastfeeding. She had already shared with him that she didn't want to be a spectacle when she needed to feed her baby.

Karin and Yuzu are at their father's side, and look very anxious as they stand close together. They have no idea what it's like to live in the same house as a baby, and wonder how things will change besides the ridiculous amount of baby equipment and toys that are already all over the place in their home.

"Do you think Orihime-chan will have it ready?" Karin asks Yuzu in a low voice, and her sister nods.

"I think she wants them to be happy too. We can't surprise Rukia-chan too much though, she might drop the baby." Yuzu points out, and Isshin nods.

"I think Ichigo or I can swing my way into being the one who carries the baby in. I love your idea Yuzu, a welcome to the world party!" Isshin says with a smile, and Yuzu nods.

"He will have to become strong like Ichi-ni since he got his hair." Karin says, and Isshin laughs.

"That color…your mother loved it. She said that our son was as radiant as the son, and that it was though he was being blessed by the gods with that hair of his. I'm glad my grandson inherited it." Isshin says, with a nostalgic smile on his face, as he remembers his wife's enthusiasm over Ichigo after he was born .

"But he got Rukia-chan's eyes. So blue and pretty!" Yuzu says with a big smile and Karin nods.

"Ichi-ni has been acting like a completely different person ever since Rukia-chan came into his life." She says, and Yuzu nods.

"I noticed that too." She whispers, and Isshin chuckles at them and their speculations.

"I knew long ago that she was the one for him. It's why I welcomed her as a daughter into our home." He says, and Karin rolls her eyes.

"You would have treated any girl who wanted to move in with us that way and you know it old man!" Karin accuses him, and Isshin frowns at her.

"No way. Only Rukia-chan brought the smile back to his face. She was never just any girl." Isshin argues, and Yuzu looks impressed.

"He's not as shallow as you make him out to be." Yuzu says with a smile, and Karin scoffs as she looks away.

"No…he's far worse." Karin mutters, but before things can get any more heated, Ichigo pushes Rukia into view in a wheelchair as she cradles a small bundle in her arms.

"Here they are!" Isshin says excitedly, and Karin can't help but to stare at the hair on her nephew.

Rukia beams at the family with pleasure, since they came together to take her and her son home.

"Kurosaki Kouki is ready to go home." Rukia says simply, and the girls rush up to her to check out her and the baby.

"Are you still in pain?" Karin asks suspiciously since she can remember how pained Rukia's screams were and she was down the hall.

"Hmm…a bit sore, kind of uncomfortable, but with my baby here, I am not feeling a whole lot of pain, and I don't really mind the discomfort. He was worth it." Rukia says, and Ichigo looks away as he tries to get the image of his pissed off wife in labor screaming at him out of his head.

_The sooner I block that out of my mind, the happier my life will be._

"You look really happy." Yuzu says with a smile, and Rukia practically glows.

"I am happier than I've ever been before in my life. I love to play with his fingers and toes." Rukia admits, with big glossy eyes, and Karin raises an eyebrow.

_She looks so happy…will I fall in love and have a family someday?_

"Me too." Ichigo says, as he gazes at his family, and Isshin laughs heartily.

"Well I say we get him home, so he can start getting used to his new surroundings." Isshin says, and Rukia nods.

"I am anxious to be back there. I didn't sleep well in the hospital, and I'm ready to go back." Rukia says softly, and Ichigo smiles.

"What are we waiting for then?" Isshin asks, and the entire Kurosaki family begins to get moving.

_Upon Arriving Home…_

"It feels like I've been away longer than three days." Rukia says as she watches Ichigo get their son out of the car seat with a great deal of care.

"I've hardly slept at all…it's next to impossible to fall asleep when you're not with me. I need to be touching you to fall asleep right." Ichigo says in a low voice, but his father overhears him.

"Aw, how romantic my son has become!" Isshin explains, and Ichigo grimaces since he can't do anything while he's holding Kouki.

"Shut up, old man." Ichigo growls, but Isshin lets out a shout of amused laughter.

"Something about seeing my son holding my grandson…" Isshin trails off as tears form in his eyes and Ichigo sighs.

"Why do all of your moods have to be so damned extreme?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia smiles.

"Come on Ichigo, I want to get him inside." Rukia says, and they both head for the front door, while Isshin crosses his arms with smug satisfaction.

When Rukia opens the door for her husband and son, she's shocked to see practically everyone she knows from the living world, along with many Shinigami from Soul Society standing in the Kurosaki residence.

"What is this?" Rukia asks in shock, and everyone smiles as they greet her.

"Congratulations!" Everyone seems to have chimed in, and Rukia smiles, even though she hasn't lost her shock yet. She gives her husband a sideways glance.

"Did they come back to shower him for real?" She asks nervously, and Ichigo looks confused for a moment until he remembers the baby shower.

"No…they're just here to congratulate us on Kouki's birth." Ichigo responds, and Rukia looks thrilled.

"Thank you so much for this, everyone." Rukia says, bowing her head, and Inoue steps forward.

"Ah, is this the new Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue asks, and Rukia smiles.

"Allow me to introduce you all to the newest member of the Kurosaki family, Kurosaki Kouki!" Rukia says with a smile, and everyone looks at the baby in Ichigo's arms with interest.

Karin raises an eyebrow at all of the black kimonos she's seeing in her house and she glances at Yuzu who hasn't appeared to notice the presence of the Shinigami. She glances at her brother who reminds her a bit of her father, with the goofy look on his face.

_Has he already changed this much? _

Inoue takes a step closer to Ichigo as she looks at the face of his son. She remembers how she felt him kick when she hugged Kurosaki-san at the baby shower, but to see him as a newborn baby hurts her heart even more.

_What I've always wanted is right in front of me, but it doesn't belong to me at all!_

"What do you think of my son, Inoue?" Ichigo asks, and Inoue nods her head with a big smile.

"I think he's wonderful, just like Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue says with her usual sunny smile, and Ichigo grins.

"Thanks, Inoue." He says, before his attention is off of her as quickly as it was on her.

"Tatsuki! Take a look! Not bad for our first one, huh?" Ichigo asks, and several people laugh.

"He had to inherit that god awful orange hair though…his life will be rough." Tatsuki says, and Ichigo scoffs.

"What was that? He'll be just fine. He'll handle it just like his pops did." Ichigo says confidently, and Tatsuki laughs.

"Oi! You can't expect a miracle you know! I haven't given birth to a kid that can protect yours, you know." Tatsuki says, and Ichigo looks wounded.

"Don't worry Kouki! I'll teach you everything I know." Ichigo says, and Tatsuki rolls her eyes.

"But…he has his mother's genes too, so maybe he won't have as much trouble as you." Tatsuki says, getting a laugh out of Rukia, but Ichigo just nods.

"Just looking at him, I already know. He's the best of both me and Rukia. I know he'll grow up to be someone amazing." Ichigo says in a soft voice, and several people in the room look impressed with him.

Luckily for Rukia, everyone had already planned on only staying for a couple of hours, in order to allow her to get some rest since she's just arrived home. As a result, time flies by very quickly, since everyone wanted a chance to see Kouki up close, and to congratulate the new parents personally.

_Later…_

Ichigo strips down to his boxers as his wife places their son in the bassinet.

"I'll be able to sleep really good tonight, with you back in bed." Ichigo says, before he climbs in and gets comfortable waiting for his wife to join him.

"I'll be right there." Rukia says, as she strips down to her panties, and grabs a nightgown to put it on.

Ichigo watches her until she's in bed next to him. He pulls her close to kiss her, before he grins.

"Good night, Mommy." He says in a deep voice, and Rukia grins before she kisses him again.

"Good night, Papa." She says back, and she watches in shock as her husband falls asleep in the middle of her speaking.

She settles close against his body and smiles as she closes her eyes.

_He must have been tired…yet he couldn't sleep when I wasn't here. I have the sweetest husband in Japan…no…in the world!_

**A/N-Kouki means light or happiness combined with hope or radiance/shine.**


	106. As Requested: The Right Girl 2

**A/N- I had a request to continue chapter 92 with Karin's soccer game, and it's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_The Right Girl 2_

"Where are you going?" Ichigo asks Rukia who looks ready to jump out his window.

"Your sister's soccer game, remember? It's today, and I'm going to go." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo stands.

"I'll come with you." He quickly stands after saying that, and Rukia pauses for only a brief moment before she opens the window.

Ichigo hurries to grab his shoes, because she doesn't appear to be very patient.

"We're already running late." Rukia says in a tight voice, and Ichigo smirks at her.

"Well…do you want to get out of our bodies, put Kon in my body, and have him carry your gigai to the game? We can just shunpo there." Ichigo offers, and Rukia can't stop herself from smirking.

Just imagining Kon carrying her running at his fastest speed…it's enough to make her want to burst into raucous laughter…very un-Kuchiki like, so she forces herself to keep her composure.

"I want to say yes, but I think that might throw your sister off of her game…so hurry up." Rukia says, as she hops out.

Ichigo hops around in a circle as he forces his sneakers on and jumps out of the window to follow her. He finds himself chasing after her like a schoolboy in love, and he scowls at that, but he quickly catches up to her, and falls in step beside her.

He remembers how after she whipped Karin's coach's ass, and then modified his memory, she grabbed his hand on the walk home. He really liked that, and so as they walk, he casually gets closer to her, letting the back of his hand brush against the back of hers.

Rukia's mind instantly goes to how she'd grabbed his hand, and she begins to blush at the memory of it, since his hand keeps touching hers, making little tingles run throughout her entire body.

She feels a bit breathless, and she wants to kick herself in the ass for having such an adolescent reaction to the orange haired man that's changed her life.

_Sometimes it feels like I don't even know myself…when I'm with Ichigo, I always feel like I want more…_

Ichigo is disappointed that she hasn't grabbed his hand, and he wonders if he should just take the initiative himself, and hold her hand since that's what he wants to do, but because they were moving along so quickly, they reach their destination at Karin's school before he can get up the nerve to actually do it.

Rukia hurries for the soccer field, and then into the bleachers, where there are already a ton of other people. When Rukia finds a suitable spot for the two of them, she scans the field for Karin and is pleased to see her warming up on the field with the rest of the team.

"I'm glad we made it before the game started." Rukia says, and she grins at Ichigo who nods his head.

"I wonder if she'll actually get to start." Ichigo says, since he hopes that she does.

He agrees with Rukia, that his sister is more talented than the guys her age. In his mind, it's only natural. Even Yuzu is naturally athletic when she actually tries physical activities, she just doesn't prefer sports.

"Rukia-chan!" Isshin's voice boom, and Ichigo nearly falls over, since he didn't realize his father had come as well.

"Your father is here! Where is he?" Rukia asks as she scans the bleachers, and then she stands up.

She's about to go look for him, to see if there is room by him, but Ichigo grabs her wrist, which shocks the hell out of her, and he shakes his head.

"Please Rukia…I don't want to sit with Pops right now." He tells her, and Rukia blinks a few times before she sits back down.

"Fine…but if his feelings are hurt later, I'm blaming it on you." She tells him, and he rolls his eyes.

"What's new about that?" He asks, and when he hears Rukia giggle, he gapes at her, completely stunned.

Rukia turns bright red, and quickly looks away from him. She can't understand why things aren't the way they usually are. She has never had sex before, but she can feel sexual tension between the two of them.

_All because I held his hand? Is this why I've lost all my composure when I'm alone with him lately?_

The teams stop warming up and gather into two groups on the field. It's obvious they're about to start playing.

"Look Ichigo! She's starting!" Rukia says, with a happy grin, and Ichigo nods his head, glad to see her expression so happy for his little sister.

His eyes go to the sidelines, and he scans the kids who aren't starting. He eyes them all, until suddenly his eyes go back to another one. An injured one…

"Rukia…how is she starting now?" Ichigo asks suddenly, and Rukia raises an eyebrow at him.

"How should I know?" She asks, and he stares at her.

"I'll be right back." Ichigo says, and he quickly zooms out of the stands and down by the team until he gets close to Karin's coach.

"What do you want? If you're a spectator you have to go to the bleachers!" The coach says, the moment he spots Ichigo and his bright orange hair, which pisses Ichigo off.

The coach is shocked as the orange haired kid grabs him up by the shirt collar and peers at him menacingly. The coach starts to sweat bullets, as he suddenly starts to perceive mortal danger to his life.

"I want to know how that kid got injured. Tell me." Ichigo says, and the coach blinks twice before taking a deep breath to answer.

"Oh…he said he was attacked by a dark haired boy that he didn't recognize. It was a shame, he was supposed to start." The coach answers quickly, wondering what connection the orange haired man has to his injured player.

"You don't mind if I talk to him for a second then, right?" Ichigo asks, and the coach is shoved aside.

He chooses to focus on the game which has started, rather than the man and his injured player, and Ichigo makes his way over to the kid before he kneels down.

"Who are you?" The kid asks directly, since he's heard of a fearsome orange haired teenager in the area.

"Don't worry about that right now. How did you get hurt?" Ichigo asks, and the kid starts to blush.

"I got into a fight with a kid from another school and lost." The kid mutters, and Ichigo doesn't know why, but he gets the feeling that the kid is lying.

"Why are you lying to me?" Ichigo asks pointedly, and the kid turns even redder.

"I'm not." He mutters, before he turns away, and Ichigo realizes he's not going to get anything out of the kid.

He heads back to Rukia's side, but she's too busy cheering on his sister, who is moving into position to score a goal.

"Come on!" Rukia chants excitedly as she clenches her fists together and roots Karin on with every fiber of her being.

"That's my Karin-chan!" Isshin's voice booms above everyone else, and Ichigo looks just in time to see his sister draw her leg back and then send the ball flying towards the net with so much power it even impresses him.

"Did she…" Rukia trails off as she looks excitedly at Ichigo.

"What?" He asks, and she grins at him.

"Your sister puts reiatsu into her kicks, when she's kicking for the goal." Rukia tells him with a smile, and Ichigo scratches his chin.

"I'm glad she's playing, but another kid had to get injured for that to happen." Ichigo says, and Rukia barely even acknowledges him since she's too focused on the game.

Rukia is forced to immerse herself into the game, because she knows precisely why Karin is starting. Due to her spirit phone, Rukia had left at lunch with Ichigo and separated to kill the hollows in two different areas. The hollow Rukia went after moved close to Karin's school, and Rukia had to kill it quickly before it sensed people with reiatsu nearby.

After killing it, Rukia suddenly heard a voice she recognized and had seen it firsthand. Ichigo's sweet little sister kicked the shit out of the kid and he was too embarrassed to admit he'd been beat up by a girl. She's ninety-nine percent sure Ichigo would call her a bad influence if he knew the truth, so she keeps quiet about it.

_Of course I could always tell him that her fighting was so similar to his own style that it's ridiculously absurd for him to blame me…_

On the field, Karin feels like she's on top of the world. She has scored the first goal of the game, and she feels like this is so much more exciting than some of the games she's played in the past. This is a chance to make an impression on all of the nonbelievers.

"Why is she the only girl playing?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo shrugs.

"When I was her age, Tatsuki was the only girl playing." He says casually, and Rukia glances at him.

"Are girls not welcome?" She asks him, and Ichigo shrugs.

"If the girl can kick all of the guys asses, they tend not to talk much shit to her face, but in Tatsuki's case, she became really popular for winning games. She realized she had to drop either martial arts club or soccer when we hit high school. I hope that Karin has the same kind of reception that Tatsuki got, or better." Ichigo admits in a low voice, and Rukia grins at him.

"The crowd cheered loud enough when she scored, and next time, you should make some noise too!" She tells him, with a look, and Ichigo nods.

"I will." He tells her.

_After The Game…_

"You were great, Karin-chan!" Rukia says excitedly as she smiles hugely, and Karin smiles back with a sheepish look on her face.

"Thanks Rukia-chan…for everything." Karin says, grateful that Rukia didn't rat her out for beating up the kid that had a starting spot.

"Ah…Kurosaki…" Karin stops in her tracks as her coach approaches and Ichigo stiffens and continues walking so that he doesn't cause a commotion.

"Yes Coach?" Karin says, and he grins at her.

"After your performance today, you'll start for every game that you're able. You're the right girl for the team." He says, grinning, and Karin stares.

"Okay!" She says, bowing her head a bit, and Rukia scratches her chin.

"It seems like he's had a change of heart on whether or not a girl can be as valuable a player as a boy." Rukia says triumphantly, and Karin smiles happily at her.

"It's all thanks to you, Rukia-chan! I'm glad you and Ichi-ni are dating!" Karin says, and Rukia turns bright red.

Ichigo who was ahead by about five meters also overheard his sister, and freezes in his tracks even as he turns red himself.

"Oi! That isn't-" Rukia starts to say, and Karin holds up her hands.

"I saw you two holding hands…" She says, before she dashes back to where her teammates are calling her name. Rukia stares after her.

_We're not dating…yet._

Isshin hangs back to drive Karin home, and Rukia catches up to Ichigo.

"It was fun, watching your sister play soccer." Rukia says, and Ichigo nods.

"Uh…about what she said…" Ichigo trails off. He feels like an instant failure because he can't say it.

"What?" Rukia asks, and when she glances up at him, he once again notices how lovely her eyes are…and he knows if he doesn't start dating her soon, some other guy might come along and snatch her up instead.

"She probably said that because she knows I…" Ichigo trails off, but he's said enough.

"You…like me?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo frowns at her before he nods.

"Yeah…that's what we'll call it…" He says, turning bright red, and Rukia's eyes widen.

"You…love me?" She asks in a whisper, but before he can respond, a hollow alert sounds.

Rukia is in action quicker than Ichigo simply because he's in a state of shock, while she's on autopilot, even if she is in a bit of disbelief since he basically just declared his love for her. Ichigo scowls before he follows her.

_Idiot…you didn't have to look so surprised._


	107. As Requested: Tall & Short 2

**A/N-I had more than one request to continue chapter 94, with a lemon, so here it is! It's dedicated to the ones that requested it, please enjoy! **

_Tall & Short 2_

"What are you doing!?" Rukia asks, as his hands are sliding up and down her back, and he's pressing hot kisses along her neck.

"You were holding me as we slept…" He reminds her, and she turns bright red again, at that, and she wants to hit him.

"That doesn't mean you can just…manhandle me!" Rukia argues, even as her heartbeat is pounding at an incredible rate from the look in his eyes, and the intent she can sense coming off of him.

"What manhandling?! Rukia…I'm not forcing you to stay here. If you want to go then pull free of me right now and go." Ichigo says in a low voice, forcing her to make a decision, and he can tell she's truly conflicted about what she should do, so he leans down to kiss her neck some more.

"Quit that! I can't think when you do that." Rukia commands, but he isn't listening to her at all.

He blatantly disobeys, and slips his hand in the top of her dress, and lets it slide across her breasts, over her bra, making her shiver in reaction. The thing that surprises her the most is that she doesn't hit him. Her mind is telling her to do it, but her body wants to experience more of what he can make her feel…since it's already so much with so little…

"We'll be more comfortable in bed…" He murmurs against her skin, and Rukia sucks in a quick breath.

Ichigo wonders if he brought up the bed too soon, since she looks like she's about to have a panic attack, but then she lifts her chin in determination, as though somehow she's going to convince him she's really worldly.

"Yes, I think you're right about the bed," She says fearlessly, but he's not fooled since he can sense she's as innocent as he is.

Ichigo picks her up in his arms, and carries her to the bed, before he sits down on it with her in his lap.

"I can't believe how soft your skin is…" Ichigo whispers as he unzips her dress, and tugs down the top of it to reveal a white lacy bra, and Ichigo stares mesmerized while Rukia's mind runs out of control.

_Holy shit what are we doing!? What if this fucks up everything we have…what if he doesn't want to look at me after…what in the hell are we doing!? Oh my god what do I do…I don't want to lose him. I don't ever want to lose my Ichigo…_

Ichigo tears his eyes away from her bra, and then he sees the panic in her eyes. For once she isn't hiding her feelings, and her expressive eyes clearly state her fears to him without her having to even say them out loud.

"Uh…" Rukia swallows nervously, since she doesn't want to push him away, and she doesn't want to lose him, and she wonders if this is all her fault for kissing him to administer the medicine that made him short…

"I never want to be without you." Ichigo says in a low voice, as his eyes stare into her own, willing her to understand, but she shakes her head at him.

"I can't lose you." Rukia says in a bare whisper, and Ichigo pulls her in to kiss her.

She can feel that he's trying to tell her something with his kiss, but she wants to hear him say something that will make her sure that he's as serious about her as she is about him.

"You never will." Ichigo says, and he's not surprised when that's not good enough, and he knows he's going to have to make his feelings very clear to get anywhere with her.

His body wants him to hurry it up, but his heart wants him to make sure she fully understands before he attempts to remove her pretty lacy white bra.

"I know that this type of thing is taken lightly by humans…but I don't take it lightly Ichigo." Rukia says in a low voice, and he nods his head in agreement.

"I don't either. I only imagine a future with you at my side. I'll make any commitment you want." Ichigo says in a low voice, and Rukia's eyes widen at that.

"Are you sure about that?" Rukia asks him, and he nods without even needing to think.

"There isn't anything I wouldn't give for you." Ichigo says in a low voice, and Rukia smiles at him.

"You're full of shit." She tells him, and he shakes his head.

"You're my first priority…I sense you clearly even when you're in Soul Society, better than some of my nakama here in Karakura Town." Ichigo admits, and she realizes that she doesn't have anymore doubts.

"You can say all that but not the other?" Rukia asks, and Ichigo turns bright red.

"Somehow I knew we'd get around to that." He says, unable to get rid of his blush.

"Don't I have a right-" Rukia starts to ask, and Ichigo leans forward to kiss the argument out of her, before he pulls away and nods his head submissively.

"You have every right. You deserve to have everything you want." Ichigo tells her in a fervent voice, before he kisses her again.

Rukia doesn't push it any further, since she gets the sense that he's working up to it, and she doesn't mind.

_It would be weird for him to say it immediately after…it would sound forced._

Ichigo keeps kissing her lips, neck, and throat in an attempt to work up the courage to say the words that he knows he'll have to say if he wants to have a truly grown up relationship with Rukia, which he does.

_The feeling isn't the problem…it's just that I haven't said that to anyone in a long, long time, and I've never said it romantically._

He pulls away for an instant and stares into her eyes for a long moment, before he puts his hand on the back of her neck, with her hair in between his hands and her neck.

_Even though you made me your height…even though you kick my ass every time we're reunited rather than hugging me properly…even though you're a runt…_

"Rukia…I love you, I always will." His voice is soft, but she heard every word clearly, and even though she heard it, she can hardly believe he actually said it.

"I can't believe you said it…" Rukia whispers, looking shocked beyond belief, and he rolls his eyes at her.

_It's okay Rukia, take your time with it…_

"You shouldn't be that shocked." He tells her before he kisses her again, and while they're kissing, she realizes she forgot to return the sentiment when she had the chance, so she'll have to look for her own opportunity to declare her love.

While she's thinking about that, he manages to relieve her of her bra, and when he sees her perfectly perky breasts, he is sure he won't mind if she never says she loves him, so long as she always lets him be this close to her…

"Ichigo…" Rukia mutters, as she turns bright red, and he looks up at her as though he can't cherish her enough, so she bites her lip, which makes her look so damned sexy in his eyes, that he leans forward and begins to kiss her throat again.

Ichigo feels like a fire has been lit in his body, because even though he doesn't want to rush, he also doesn't know how he's supposed to take it slow. He adjusts her in his arms, and then pulls her further onto the bed with him, before he flips her around and onto her back, so that he's above her.

"You're more perfect than I imagined…" Ichigo tells her, and she squeezes her eyes shut even as joy floods her body.

_He's imagined me like this before?!_

He starts to yank on the bottom of her dress, and she lifts her butt so that he can pull the dress completely down and off at her feet. Then he pulls his shirt off, which makes her open her eyes, since she could hear him taking something off.

He slowly leans back over her, allowing her to look at him all she wants to, since the only thing being shielded from his view, is what her panties cover, which can be a lot or a little, depending on the point of view you're taking.

Rukia didn't think her heart could speed up anymore than it already had, but it does when he presses his body against hers, and begins to kiss her passionately again. Then he moves down, and gently rubs his tongue over her nipples, since they're already hard and poking out in a way that turns him on more than he realized it might.

"Mm…" Rukia murmurs, as his hands slide over her belly, and then she feels a slight tickle as his hand brushes over the area in between her legs, over her panties.

His mouth comes back up to hers, and then she feels his hand slipping into her panties, and her whole body jerks as his fingers locate the most sensitive spot on her body.

He groans into her mouth and begins to play with her in a way that she's sure is probably illegal since it feels so good, but she doesn't want him to stop, since she's never felt waves of ecstasy like this before…

Ichigo is sure he's about to nut in his pants, because he's so damned turned on, but he's pretty sure he can blame that on the half pint Shinigami that is squirming in his arms, but then he realizes that her body is reacting to his touch, in the most rewarding of ways, so he pulls away in order to be able to remove her panties completely.

Rukia sucks in her breath, and wonders why she has to be the first one to be naked, but then she thinks that perhaps she doesn't mind if the mystery of what he looks like naked, remains a mystery for just a tiny bit longer, since she's not feeling like her usual self…

Her thoughts are completely interrupted when he scoots down and replaces his fingers with his tongue…she nearly shoots off the bed. She never even imagined…

"Rukia…" He murmurs her name right up against her private parts where his mouth is pressed, so that she can feel his breath…his tongue…and she's sure she's about to pass out from the sheer pleasure he's bringing her.

She's so lost in the pleasure he's bringing her, that she doesn't hear him unzip his pants, while his face is pressed into her, with his tongue going crazy.

Just when Rukia's sure she's about to lose her mind for real, he pulls away from her, and has the rest of his clothing off so fast, she blinks a couple of times. Then she breathes a bit heavier, since she knows it's coming.

_I'm really about to make love to Ichigo…_

He collapses on top of her, and begins kissing her throat, even as she can feel him pressing against her…skin against skin. He reaches down and surprises her by continuing to tease her. He's rubbing the head of his erection up against the same nub he was just licking, and it feels so good that she sighs into his neck.

Ichigo is shocked when she begins to kiss his neck in the same way that he was kissing hers, and he's even more surprised at how it affects him. All he can do is sleep and breathe Rukia…

He knows as he rubs up against her, that she's as close to ready as she can possibly be, because her body has been continually reacting to his touch, making him feel like some sort of expert, even though he's as new to it as she is.

Rukia sighs as he takes one of her hands, and puts the other on her cheek, while giving her a thoroughly apologetic look, which she doesn't miss, even as she feels that he's pressed right up against…

"Eep!" Rukia blinks a few times very quickly at the blinding pain that's just gripped her, even though nothing had been painful up to this point.

"Damn it I'm sorry Rukia…" Ichigo mutters into her neck, but then he bites his lip as he concentrates with all of his being on not finding his climax while she's in the middle of being in pain.

Rukia takes a few breaths, and takes notice of the throbbing sensation that has started on the inside…it's not so much painful as it is…foreign.

_Uncomfortable…weird…what is all the hype about this anyways? All the stuff that came before was much nicer…_

Ichigo begins to kiss her face, and her neck, and then her ears as he waits for any response from her, and she really is comforted by his physical show of affection.

"Ichigo…I love you." She whispers solemnly, and he groans as he shuts his eyes.

"Are you okay? Can I…can I move?" He asks her, and she raises an eyebrow at that.

He gives her a tiny demonstration by withdrawing and pushing back in, and her first reaction is to make him stop…but then the sensation is…curious to say the least. She gives him a slight nod, and he starts out slow, watching her face carefully for any sign of pain before he slowly starts to push harder and faster into her.

He doesn't make it all that far before he finds his climax, but to his delight, he doesn't start to go soft, and so he makes gentle love to her for several minutes, before he stops, concerned he may have hurt her. She turns red as he pulls completely off of her, and turns towards the bathroom, giving Rukia her first look at his bare ass.

She's glad he didn't try to run a marathon with it, because her whole body feels weird, and she wonders if anyone will be able to tell simply by looking at her that she's no longer a virgin. Then she smiles.

_I made love to Ichigo…and even though it's weird, it was also wonderful._

Suddenly Ichigo pops his head out of the bathroom door.

"If we're going to be a couple, we need to talk about what kind of medicines are okay to force on me, and what kinds are not okay to force on me." He tells her in a stern voice, and Rukia begins laughing.

"Keep complaining and I'll give you the one that makes us trade ages." She says, and he looks terrified as he shuts the door again, and Rukia giggles some more.

_I love him, he's so much fun!_

**A/N-Also, not sure if I mentioned it in this story or not, but I did an Ichi/Hollow Ichi vid on Youtube, and the link is in my profile, please go check it out!**


	108. As Requested: Immortal Isshin 11

**A/N- I had a request to continue the story, and it's dedicated to the one that requested it. To those of you who are unaware, I have started BlacknwhiteIchiRuki3, and also have a BlacknwhiteIchiRukiSpecial posted…something for you to check out!**

_Immortal Isshin 11_

"So Karin is throwing a party tonight? I was hoping we could relax and have a quiet dinner tonight." Ichigo says with a sigh, while Rukia hands Keiko and Taiki pieces of cut up watermelon.

Their tiny hands grab happily at the fruit and their eyes sparkle as they pluck a slice of watermelon up and begin to eat while spitting the seeds out at each other.

"Tomorrow we can do that. Tonight we're going to have a lot of people over." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo looks exhausted.

"That means I won't get any sleep tonight." Ichigo grumbles, and Rukia stands up.

"Ichigo, why don't you go and lay down for a little while. I'll watch the kids and organize the paperwork, so that when we come in tomorrow, all you'll have to do is sign." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo looks very grateful.

"Thanks, Rukia." Ichigo walks over to give his wife a kiss of gratitude, and she accepts it happily.

"I'll wake you up in a couple of hours, sexy." Rukia whispers, before she kisses his cheek and then his neck.

He shoots her a hot smile, even as he shivers visibly, and then his eyes roam over her entire figure with a blatant wanting expression. Rukia winks at him, and sits down at her desk.

The playpen for the twins is set up right next to her desk, and she looks ready to make up for the fact that he's slacking off a bit. He heads out of the office and towards the captain's quarters to rest for a bit.

_Later…_

"How many people did she invite?" Ichigo's voice sounds right up against Rukia's ear, and she shrugs.

"It's fine, we have servants to clean it all up." Rukia reminds him, but Ichigo still looks a bit ill.

"What time do you suppose the last guest will actually leave?" He asks with a worried expression, and Rukia laughs.

"Probably around dawn." His wife answers honestly, and Ichigo just shakes his head with reluctant surrender.

"This is going to be a long night." Ichigo grumbles.

Rukia watches her stubborn husband rather closely, since the twins are being passed around among their friends, and he doesn't truly start enjoying the party until about two hours in, along with several cups of sake.

When he's finally laughing and smiling, Rukia finds that she's in much the same condition, though she's had far less to drink than her husband has. It seems like most of Soul Society is partying in the manor for the evening, and even Toushirou looks unusually happy.

Yachiru and Takeshi become the center of attention for a good half hour, with their dancing, and managed to be a source of great entertainment, since Yachiru's energy is easily matched by her husband, and they dance like professionals, but do amazing tricks like stuntmen.

Ukitake and Yuzu also got into the dancing. Rukia smiles with a nod of happiness watching them since their relationship seems to be blossoming slowly but surely. Rukia knows a lot of people think that they are the perfect couple that they never thought of, since they suit each other so nicely.

Rukia admires how kind they are to one another, and she knows that even though both she and Ichigo are nice to each other, they can still get into some loud arguments. Since Ukitake and Yuzu got together though, Rukia hasn't even heard them have one argument. They're both so easygoing that if one of them says something, the other usually agrees without a second thought or debate.

Suddenly, a binding spell grips all of the guests in the room, and Karin's voice reaches everyone, while a hush settles over the crowd.

"_Attention everyone. There is a reason I invited you all to the Kurosaki manor tonight, and that is to make a very important announcement. The Tenth Division Captain, Hitsugaya Toushirou and myself, Lieutenant of the Tenth Division are expecting to give birth in about six months_!"

Karin's announcement shocks the hell out of everyone in the room. Ichigo looks like a fish, because he's opening and closing his mouth in shock, and after a long moment of shocked silence, the room erupts into a roar of approval, with shouts of congratulations being yelled from every direction.

"Finally! Another one of my children will give me a grandchild! I've long waited for this day!" Isshin's appearance of course brings everyone except his family members down to their knees.

"There you are! Where have you been?" Karin snaps loudly at her father, and he scratches his head.

"Masaki and I were putting the twins to sleep since their parents are sloshed." Isshin says, and Rukia blushes.

"I'm not sloshed!" She shouts up at her father-in-law, who chuckles in response.

"I have some very special sake saved for this very occasion! One minute, everyone rise for goodness sakes!" Isshin's jovial voice is excited beyond measure, and there isn't one member of the Kurosaki family who can scowl at the moment, as everyone is very happy for Karin.

"I should have expected it…but I don't believe it! Karin is actually going to be a mother." Ichigo looks like he's just been told an unbelievable tale, which makes Rukia smirk at him.

"You look way more shocked than you should." His wife tells him, and Ichigo nods.

"Come on, I want to congratulate them face to face." Ichigo tells her, and Rukia quickly follows behind him, and people move to make way for them, since they are the official heads of the manor.

It doesn't take long for them to locate Karin and Toushirou, who look very pleased with everyone's reaction to their happy news.

"Oi, Karin! Congratulations!" Ichigo says, and Rukia nods her head excitedly.

"Yes, we're both excited for you! Congratulations!" Rukia says, as she takes Karin's hands and squeezes them.

Ichigo turns to Toushirou and gives him a cocky smile.

"If you need any advice, I'm happy to help. Of course my advice will help more if you have twins or more." Ichigo tells Toushirou, who suddenly looks concerned.

"That's right, twins seem to be common in your family. Karin is a twin, you had two sets of identical twins among your quintuplets, and then fraternal twins on your second go." Toushirou says, as he realizes the odds of he and his wife having more than one baby are incredibly high in comparison to other families.

Ichigo smiles nostalgically as he remembers when the quintuplets were toddlers. They were full of trouble, but too cute for him to ever be really mad at them.

"It's kind of nice to get a bunch of kids out of the way in one go. Rukia had a tough time, but in the end, she felt it was worth it." Ichigo says to Toushirou, who looks more and more nervous with each passing second.

"I'd be happy with just one." Toushirou says, but Ichigo ignores him.

"Let me give you one very valuable piece of advice right now. If she's craving something, don't even argue the point. You'll be much more at peace if you just get her whatever she wants, even if it's fast food from the living world. Just give her whatever she wants." Ichigo tells Toushirou, who starts to look white.

"How bad is it, when they're pregnant?" Toushirou asks in a quiet voice, not wanting to be overheard by his wife, and Ichigo practically snorts.

"I'm not going to lie to you, it sucks. But I guarantee you she's having a harder time than you no matter how hard it seems to be for you. She's the one who goes through all the pain, and she's the one who sacrifices the most. Don't forget that." Ichigo says in a quiet but serious tone, and Toushirou nods his head solemnly.

"I was worried, I thought she was developing some serious illness or something. I was so happy to find out she's pregnant that I didn't think about what it would be like to actually experience it." Toushirou admits, but Ichigo shakes his head at Karin's husband.

"It'll be pretty easy since you two live here. Everyone helps out with the kids. That's how Rukia and I haven't lost our minds. If we hadn't had so much help…" Ichigo visibly shudders at the idea of what it would have been like to only have him and Rukia to take care of the quintuplets.

Isshin appears with several servants behind him, all carrying an appealing looking sake bottles, but then a young servant girl appears with sparkling grape juice for Karin as well.

"We must toast this wondrous news!" Isshin declares, and everyone looks like they're anxious to try Isshin's special brew. Takeshi and Yachiru suddenly appear right by Ichigo and Rukia, right as Isshin is pouring the first round of cups.

"This is exciting, I'm finally going to have a cousin!" Takeshi says to Ichigo, who smiles.

"Yeah I'm looking forward to having a nice or nephew." Ichigo tells his son, and Rukia smiles hugely.

"The family is only going to keep getting bigger. What about the two of you? Are you thinking about starting a family yet?" Rukia asks her orange haired son, who blushes a bit.

"It will happen when it's meant to happen." Takeshi says, and Isshin laughs.

"At least it's not for lack of trying right?" Isshin asks, and Takeshi practically turns purple, while Yachiru laughs in amusement.

"Definitely not! Take-chan is always trying!" Yachiru announces, and pretty much everyone in the room is amused since they heard her.

"I'm sure it won't be long before the two of you have news as well." Isshin says happily, while Takeshi just stares at his cup of sake, wishing the conversation would move along to another subject.

Masaki appears beside Isshin, who hands her a cup and smiles at her.

"May we have dozens and dozens of grandchildren to love!" Isshin says, and everyone holds up their cup to that.

"Cheers!"

_The Next Day…_

"Ah…can I talk to you?" Toushirou asks Ichigo, who is sitting down to eat breakfast.

"Sure, what's up?" Ichigo asks breezily, and Toushirou hangs his head.

"Karin doesn't want the doctor to tell us anything about the pregnancy beyond whether or not things are proceeding well, but I want to know how many kids we're going to have, and the sex." Toushirou says, and Ichigo shakes his head.

"Whatever she wants, remember?" Ichigo asks him, and Toushirou sighs.

"But we can be much better prepared if we know everything in advance!"

"I'm not the one you have to convince." Ichigo says, and Toushirou nearly growls but then he's quiet for a long while.

"I guess we'll just have to be surprised…" Toushirou finally says, with his head hanging and Ichigo laughs.

"There you go! Now you're handling it." Ichigo says with a nod of his head, and Toushirou just looks down.

"I can only hope we don't have as many as you did your first time." Toushirou grumbles before standing up and leaving the room, but Ichigo just smiles.

_Even if you do, you'll love every single one of them so I hope you two are as happy as Rukia and me are._


	109. As Requested: Erotic Dream 2

**A/N-I had a reader who really enjoyed the Erotic Dream chapter that I posted for chapter 95. As a result I was asked to do this chapter, it's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy it!**

_Erotic Dream 2_

Ever since they confessed their feelings to one another after Ichigo heard Rukia calling out his name during her erotic dream, they have become much closer. Neither one of them has admitted the secret that another personality is almost always present for the erotic dreams that have been happening even more frequently now that they've already verbally acknowledged their feelings for one another.

For Rukia it's Hollow Ichigo. He's present so often in her dreams with Ichigo, that she's beginning to get a bit concerned about it. She knows she vastly prefers Ichigo to his hollow, but his hollow has a way of making her feel good in her dreams whether or not she wants him to do that.

For Ichigo it's Chappy. The energetic temporary soul is always talking nonsense, even when she's on top of him and bouncing up and down on his rock hard erection. It doesn't bother Ichigo at all to have twin vision of Rukia in his dreams, in fact he rather enjoys the kinky benefit of such dreams.

It's because of these dreams that they lost their virginity to one another shortly after the first time Rukia admitted she was dreaming of Ichigo in her sleep. After admitting they dreamed of one another, things seemed to finally blossom between them.

Rukia knows she loves being with Ichigo and she hopes she never has to confront his hollow for real. She can almost hear him taunting her for the sexual nature of her dreams in regards to him. In fact she's already had a daydream…or more like a day-nightmare about something like that happening.

_Rukia's Day-Nightmare…_

He stares her down as though he can read her soul, and perhaps he can. He's far more observant than Ichigo in that he seems to have understood hers and Ichigo's feelings for one another before they did themselves.

"_Rukia-chan, I want to get you naked and see that perfect little birthmark on the inside of your thigh…you don't know how much it turns me on to see and lick that little mark you got there_." His hollow is always perverted and blunt.

"Look, I don't want to be with you…I just want Ichigo back in control." Rukia tells him, but his hollow's smile curves into a ridiculously huge grin…even bigger than the one Ichigo gave her when he caught sight of her in Hueco Mundo.

"_Ah, but Rukia-chan…I always want to be with you! In the biblical sense if you know what I mean_." His hollow says, and Rukia raises an eyebrow at him.

"The fact that you can even say the word biblical, or that you even know what it means is more shocking than anything to me." Rukia says crossly, and Ichigo's hollow seems very delighted with her response.

"_You're such a spitfire! I can't get enough of you! It's one of few things the King and I have in common you know, and because it's his body, being with me isn't cheating_!" His hollow announces, and Rukia clenches her fists.

"No."

"_I won't take no for an answer…not when I know for a fact that you dream about me just like the King. I won't let you run away from what's about to happen, Rukia-chan. You already knew that at the beginning of this discussion though, didn't you_?" His hollow asks her with a mocking tone of voice.

Rukia can't actually answer that question out loud to his hollow, but she's not at all shocked at this turn of events, because she did know she wouldn't be able to run away, and that his hollow would dominate himself over her until he got his way.

_End of Rukia's Day-Nightmare_

That's as far as she's allowed her mind to wander in regards to a confrontation with her hollow, but her subconscious doesn't let her ignore it by making her have such filthy dreams that include the love of her life and his _other_ personality that is buried within him.

Ichigo's dreams that include Chappy are far less disturbing, and Ichigo isn't at all freaked out by the outrageous way in which the temporary soul is capable of acting.

_After all, she was all over me the first time I met her…and she's identical to Rukia…what's not to like?_

He doesn't have any fears that Chappy will dominate him, because that's Rukia's job. Ichigo also has no idea how much each vision every night freaks her out since she hasn't admitted to him that she dreams of his hollow. Rukia also fears that if she told Ichigo the truth, on some level his hollow would hear the admission too, so she's just kept quiet about it, only thinking about it when she's alone and in private.

Her worries manifest themselves while she sleeps each night, so Rukia can only imagine what kind of sexual dream she'll have that involves Ichigo's hollow next. The most frustrating part for her though, is that in her dreams she loves the attention his hollow gives her…it's like she's become a whole new person.

Ichigo has been a far better boyfriend than she imagined he might be, he is allowed to miss family dinners if he's taking her out, so he does extra chores around the house for his father that Yuzu is unable to do, just to earn the cash to take Rukia out a few times a week, which Rukia just loves.

It's not the way other people see them (as the most handsome couple in the world) it's how they've grown even closer than they used to be, which Rukia hadn't known was possible…she thought she already shared the most special bond in the world with him, and to learn it could only get better makes the nights seems like a small price to pay for all her happiness.

The time spent awake goes by quickly for Rukia, who enjoys each day with more excitement and happiness than she every viewed her life before Ichigo. She doesn't understand how she still hasn't managed to get over the surprise of finding a man as amazing as Ichigo.

When it's time to go to bed, Ichigo notices that Rukia is struggling to stay awake as she pretends to read a magazine while stretched out on his rug.

"Why don't we fall asleep together?" Ichigo asks her, and Rukia looks up.

"There are a few more articles I'd like to read before I fall asleep…" Rukia is glad that isn't a lie, since there are some articles she wants to read, it's just that she's not sure she'll be able to force herself to stay awake long enough to do so.

"You were just nodding off." Ichigo says, and Rukia blinks a couple of times.

"I know I'm tired…" She admits, and Ichigo gets off the bed to pick up his small girlfriend in his arms.

"Then we should go to bed, idiot." Ichigo says in a husky voice, before he leans down to kiss her, and Rukia practically sighs into his mouth as he does.

She knows she can't run away from her dreams, so she lets him kiss her senseless before he takes the few steps to get back to his bed and deposits Rukia into it before joining her. She quickly realizes he might have other intentions besides sleeping, but it's far too early to risk trying to sleep together without getting caught by any of the nosy members of his family, so Ichigo is forced to settle for making out until the wee hours of the night are upon them.

Rukia is asleep before she knows it, and a whole new type of dream sequence begins for her. For once, Ichigo's hollow isn't all over her, instead it's just her and Ichigo making love in her dream, and it's fantastic.

She thoroughly enjoys the sexual events of the dream until Ichigo's door busts open with Chappy perched naked on Hollow Ichigo's shoulders, and he's naked too, with a massive erection.

"Ichigo!" Rukia says, but he's way into what they're experiencing to notice who has entered the room, which really confuses his girlfriend, who is completely distracted by this development.

Ichigo does notice that she's distracted, even though he still hasn't spotted his hollow and Chappy, but Rukia doesn't know how that's even possible. Ichigo reacts to her distraction by beginning to make love to her with far more vigor than what he'd been going about before she took her attention off of him.

The reaction is instant, Rukia lets out a loud shout of pleasure instinctively as Ichigo pounds in and out of her.

"_I'm going to fuck you on the floor bitch._" Ichigo's hollow lifts Chappy off his shoulders, and throws her to the ground in a very violent manner but the temporary soul giggles in anticipation as he swiftly gets her on all fours.

Finally Ichigo realizes that he and Rukia aren't the only ones in the room, and he looks in time to see his hollow penetrating Chappy doggy style. He finally realizes why Rukia got so tense and distracted, but his reaction shocks Rukia…

"Ignore them." Ichigo says firmly before putting his back into making love to her some more.

Rukia is caught between surprise and pleasure due to Ichigo's words and actions, but she does her best to listen to him.

"_Oh yeah I like it when you tighten those muscles!_" Hollow Ichigo announces, and Chappy lets out a loud moan.

Suddenly Ichigo lets out a loud moan as he climaxes within Rukia, and his hollow refuses to be outdone, he begins to pound away at Chappy using all of the speed his hollow body gives to him. Even Ichigo's eyes widen as he recovers from his orgasm and sees his hollow in the throes of passion with Rukia's gigai with the temporary soul in control of it.

Both Chappy and Ichigo's hollow are becoming insanely loud as he pushes himself to the max in order to release himself quickly within Chappy.

"I can't believe they're having sex in the same room as us…and at the same time as us…" Rukia mutters, since Ichigo still hasn't pulled out of her, and Ichigo is still trying to catch his breath from all of the hard work he put in while giving Rukia all he had.

Hollow Ichigo stands and eyes Rukia with a big smile on his face.

"_I'm still hard_." Hollow Ichigo says, as he points at his crotch, and Rukia can only gawk, since for once in her dream she's not chomping at the bit to get it on with him.

Somehow it feels far more real than many of her dreams do, just because she doesn't feel like she's become a whole new person.

"Fuck off." Ichigo tells his hollow, since he still is inside of Rukia, but his hollow slaps him so hard that he's removed from Rukia and the bed.

Rukia watches as Ichigo lands not so gracefully onto the floor and Chappy quickly leans over him, feeling his neck for a pulse. Rukia goes to jump out of the bed, but Hollow Ichigo keeps her in by shoving her back against the mattress by her chest with the palm of his hand.

"_Didn't you hear me? You're going to take this throbbing cock and make it feel good_!" Hollow Ichigo tells Rukia who blinks rapidly even as she shakes her head no at him.

"I want Ichigo back!" Rukia tells him, and Hollow Ichigo laughs at her.

"_He'll do just fine with her. I know for a fact she's a decent substitute even though nothing compares to the real thing_." Hollow Ichigo tells Rukia before he leans down and shoves his tongue in her mouth.

To Rukia's horror, she finds herself responding on instinct, trying to take control of a kiss that won't be removed from Ichigo's hollow's control. His hands are all over her body and she's powerless to stop it…she's also powerless to stop herself from enjoying it.

"It's okay if you enjoy it." Ichigo says to Rukia, even as Chappy begins to lick his ears and Hollow Ichigo pulls away from Rukia to laugh.

"You're not helping!" Rukia snaps, completely amazed at Ichigo's words.

"_She does enjoy it. She knows who fucks her right_." Hollow Ichigo announces, and Ichigo is unable to answer since Chappy has begun to kiss him.

Ichigo slides his arm around Chappy and allows his hollow to get away with his taunt. Hollow Ichigo smiles down at Rukia.

"This is unnatural." Rukia mutters in disbelief, and Ichigo's hollow laughs at her.

"_Why don't you just succumb to the inevitable Rukia-chan? Even that dumb douche bag down there knows you deserve to have the best, and that's me_!" Hollow Ichigo informs her, and Rukia lets out an aggravated sigh.

"You are pretty good…" She admits, and he bites his lip with a look of desire in his eyes.

"_I'm the best, bitch. Say it_." Hollow Ichigo says, and Rukia shakes her head no at him.

"No." Rukia says tartly, and his hollow suddenly looks like he enjoys the challenge.

"_Well then, I won't stop fucking you until you do admit it_." He says with a low growl in his throat, and Rukia looks completely taken aback.

His hollow wastes no time, he forces her legs apart and dips his fingers into her already warmed up honey pot, and he lets out a growl of appreciation when he feels she hasn't dried up on him. She squirms under his relentless touch, and he only tortures her briefly before he sinks himself into her.

On the floor, Ichigo is laying down with Chappy on top of him, enjoying the feel of his muscular chest. She is just as into the time she's spending with him, as she was into being done on all fours by his hollow.

Rukia doesn't turn her head to look when she hears Ichigo let out a moan of pleasure, instead she hears the same type of appreciative noise coming from her own throat.

His hollow makes good on his threat, switching up the positions with Rukia frequently, and capturing her every time she tries to wriggle out of his grasp.

"_Stop trying to get away from me when you enjoy it, or I'll fuck you harder_!" His hollow says, enjoying the catch twenty-two that he's just trapped her in.

"I don't enjoy it because I want to!" Rukia tells him, just before she moans in pleasure again, from him bending her over the bed and doing her while he's standing up.

"_No you enjoy it because I'm the fucking best_!" Hollow Ichigo says, before he smacks her ass rather hard.

He plunges himself into her with even more force, and Rukia finds herself in the middle of a climax, which means she can only let out loud moans of enjoyment.

Rukia can't understand why she can enjoy this time with his hollow so much…she doesn't want to take it back, she doesn't feel violated. She feels figured out.

"Aren't you done yet?" Rukia asks, as she tries to catch her breath, and his hollow looks at her like she's lost her mind.

"_Only one thing is going to stop me…you have to admit it, Rukia-chan_." His hollow says again, and Rukia glances at Ichigo who is getting his balls licked by Chappy.

She doesn't want to say it, so he doesn't stop with the sex…and Rukia finds herself moaning again really hard in no time.

"_Say it Rukia-chan_…" His hollow teases her, and Rukia for once, really wants Ichigo to save her.

"Ichigo is the best." Rukia says firmly.

In that moment, Hollow Ichigo disappears, and Rukia opens her eyes to find Ichigo giving her a sexy smile.

"Were you dreaming about me again?" He asks, and Rukia bites her lip.

She wants to tell him, but she doesn't want to make him self-conscious about his hollow. She knows he can be more sensitive about that subject than he cares to let on. She finally nods her head at him since it's not a complete lie…she _did_ dream of him after all.

"You still get embarrassed?" Ichigo says, and then he leans down to kiss her, and Rukia finds that he's pressing his arousal against her leg.

"Yeah…but instead of dreaming about the best man, I'd like to make love to him for real." Rukia says, and Ichigo looks happy to hear it.

"I can definitely accommodate you." He assures her hastily, and Rukia grins.

"I'm counting on it." She tells him, before she laces her arms around his neck and forgets the dreams instantly as she makes out with the man who makes her feel the best in the world.

_That was just a dream, but this is real…and there is nothing better._


	110. As Requested: Feminine Issues 5

**A/N-I had a request to continue with the Feminine Issues series, which are chapters 36, 45, 58 and 61. It's dedicated to the person that requested it, please enjoy!**

_Feminine Issues 5_

"Shhh….be quiet Rukia." Ichigo whispers as they tiptoe for the bathroom.

"You're absolutely insane…" Rukia mutters under her breath, and then Ichigo clamps his hand down over her mouth.

"Don't make me have to gag you." Ichigo growls against her ear, and Rukia pinches his side, _hard_.

"You bast-" Rukia is cut off by Ichigo cutting off all her air supply.

"That fucking hurt, Rukia!"

He manages to say it quietly, yet urgently so that she knows her pinch was effective.

They slip into the bathroom where Ichigo flips on the light, shuts the door, and locks it.

"I still think you're insane." Rukia tells him in a low voice, as he walks over to run the water.

"It felt so good earlier…I want to do it again, just like that, in the shower." Ichigo tells her, as he gives her the once over, and Rukia blushes.

"Is that all you're interested in?" She asks, and Ichigo leans down to kiss her.

"You're addictive. I can't help wanting you like I do."

Rukia softens up immediately. He's so cute when he begs, and is obviously excited to be getting it on with her.

"Undress me then." Rukia orders him, and Ichigo looks ridiculously happy to obey her command.

"As you wish, my short beautiful bitch." Ichigo says it so lightly that Rukia laughs instead of getting mad, and Ichigo claps his hand over her mouth again.

"Ichigo knock that off." Rukia whispers, and he shakes his head.

"You're going to get us caught before we even really get started." He's practically whining, but he manages to get her in a topless state, and he freezes up for a moment, practically boring a hole into her he's staring so hard at her bare breasts.

"The water is going to get cold if you take too long to get this done," Rukia says, snapping Ichigo out of his daze.

He strips her down naked in no time, and she scrambles to get into the shower ahead of him. He remembers she'd wanted to get in there first earlier too, so he takes his time removing his own night pants and tee-shirt. Rukia gets the chance she wanted to pre-wash before he joins her, and when Ichigo gets in, he winds up behind her.

He steps right up against her back, and reaches around to fondle her breasts, smiling at the sound of her sigh as he works her nipples into hard little nubs.

"I want to bend you over and go at it like crazy." Ichigo mutters against her ear, and Rukia's eyes widen.

_Won't the slapping of our bodies wake the entire household?_

"Ichigo…" Rukia moans quietly, and Ichigo lets out a very quiet but obvious sigh of pleasure against her ear.

"You've got such a hot little body." Ichigo murmurs, and Rukia gasps as he works his hand in between her legs from behind and begins to play with her clit.

She inhales a few times in a row without exhaling at all, and Ichigo grins as she sags against his body, and he knows he can already get in. She gasps more loudly, and Ichigo sucks on the back of her neck for a moment before he pushes against her back to make her bend over even more.

He grabs her legs, and positions himself for entry, and lets out a long quiet moan as he enters her.

_This is what I've been waiting to feel again all day!_

"Ah!" Rukia is starting to get into it so much that she's forgetting to be quiet, but Ichigo reminds her by clasping a hand over her mouth before he pulls out and pushes back into her with as much power as he can possibly muster. She shrieks into his hand, and Ichigo starts to panic that they're definitely going to get caught.

_I'd better finish before dad busts down the door…_

He knows he's muffling Rukia's moans of ecstasy, but he can't completely stifle his own sounds of enjoyment that escape his lips even though he's willing himself not to make a sound. There's no managing complete control over himself when he's inside of her.

He pulls out and pushes back in, more quickly and with more urgency than before. In and out, in and out…

Rukia's body convulses a bit against his own, and Ichigo releases unexpectedly when he feels her body reacting to the way he's plunging himself unmercifully upon her.

"You feel so fucking good Rukia…" Ichigo moans against her ear, feeling the second shot spill into her, and the convulsing of his own sex as he empties all of himself into her.

They're both breathing heavily, and Ichigo finally removes his hand from Rukia's mouth.

"You really are nuts…" Rukia pants out, and Ichigo smirks at her, and they let the water rinse off their bodies.

"It was fun though, wasn't it? Now we have to try and make it back to my room without getting caught!" Ichigo says before he reaches out and grabs two towels. He hands one to Rukia and uses the other to quickly dry off and wrap it around his waist. They both swipe their night clothes off the bathroom floor, and Ichigo turns off the water.

"Remember when you used to shower in here and I'd stand guard outside the door?" Ichigo asks, and Rukia nods, her face all pink.

"Yep."

"I hope we don't get caught tonight like we did back then," Ichigo says as he quietly turns the lock on the door.

The instant he opens it, he finds his father standing there with his arms crossed.

"Busted." Isshin's words sound serious, but he has a big shit grin on his face.

"How long have you been there?" Ichigo demands, not so quietly, and Isshin snickers.

"Long enough."

"I'll kill you!"Rukia sighs in aggravation as Isshin takes off, and Ichigo tears after him at top speed.

"I'm going back to bed, don't wake me up again tonight Ichigo!" Rukia calls out, and she heads for Ichigo's room.

She doesn't dare to think about what Isshin might do next, possibly take out an announcement in the morning paper…or worse.

_I'm just going to go back to sleep and pretend it never happened…_

* * *

_THE NEXT MORNING_.

"I should have known it was impossible." Rukia groans, as she enters the kitchen to find Isshin wearing a shirt that has the most inappropriate words on it.

_**My son finally got laid, and all I got was this lousy tee-shirt!**_

"Maybe I should go back to bed." Rukia says, turning bright red, and Karin rolls her eyes.

"Dad has been waiting a whole year to wear it, just try to forget about it."

"That's impossible," Rukia mutters.

It isn't even five minutes before Rukia gets to witness Ichigo's reaction to his father's shirt. He tears off after his father _again_.

_Such is life at the Kurosaki house._


	111. As Requested: Immortal Isshin 12

**A/N- I suppose it's just fate that I've gotten SOOO many recent requests to continue Immortal Isshin. That's not the reason I'm updating it actually…a very nice person requested that I continue this AGES ago! (October 2008) and so it has been long overdue for me to continue on with the saga of this particular story. Enjoy it, that's a freaking order! XD**

**Love~~Theresa Crane**

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* * *

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_Immortal Isshin 12_

* * *

Rukia smiles as Ukitake is watching Yuzu leave the room. She had always had the sneaking suspicion that they'd pair up magnificently, but they are truly a paragon of a couple. They're always proper, and the worst anybody's seen them do, is sneak a passionate kiss here and there. Only Rukia and Ichigo can even lay claim to such a memory.

Ukitake looks back at his former subordinate, and finds her smiling at him with a knowing look on her face.

"You two are so cute together!" Rukia gushes, and Ukitake smiles graciously.

"Do you suppose she feels left out? Being the only one of all of her siblings who isn't married?" Ukitake asks, and Rukia immediately nods her head yes.

The twins are preoccupied in the playpen, and after Rukia is done checking on them, she gives Ukitake a knowing smile.

"Definitely. You should also do something about that as soon as possible. I'd suggest doing it before her father comes and gives you the same stern talking to that he gave to Captain Hitsugaya." Rukia says, and Ukitake chuckles.

"I've already talked to him."

Rukia's eyes widen like a pair of dinner plates.

"Really?" Rukia asks, disbelieving, and Ukitake laughs at her expression.

"I have. It's just that with her sister due to have the baby, I wonder if I should wait…would we be stealing some of the light away from Karin's happiness?" Ukitake asks, and Rukia smiles.

"I'm sure Karin wants her sister to be happy in the exact same way, and I don't think that's something you have to worry about."

"I've been going back and forth on proposing to her…but I think you might have just helped me make up my mind." Ukitake's words make Rukia blush.

"I'm happy to help, and soon you'll be family!" Rukia says, and Ukitake smiles.

Looking genuinely thrilled at the prospect, Ukitake speaks his thoughts out loud. "And all of those kids will call me Uncle Ukitake…"

"That's right! And your kids will call me Aunt Rukia!"

"What's going on in here?" Ichigo breaks up their happy little conversation, and his wife beams at him.

"Ukitake is going to propose to your sister!"

"Keep it a secret okay?" Ukitake says, and Rukia closes an imaginary zipper on her mouth.

"You have my word."

"Rukia guess what I have for you?" Ichigo says, and Rukia is suddenly focused completely on her husband.

"You have something for me? Really? What is it?"

"Here." He hands her a beautiful picture frame, and inside of it is a photo of when they went to the living world to renew their vows a few months earlier.

Rukia throws herself in her husband's arms, and he holds her tight.

"Ichigo…I want to do things to you right now that only commoners should think about." Rukia admits into his chest, and her husband laughs at that.

"I like the way you think my love…are the twins okay to leave there?"

"I'm still here…and I'll sit with the twins until you two come back from wherever you're wanting to go." Ukitake makes Ichigo and Rukia flinch.

Rukia winks at her former captain. "I promise to return the favor sometime!"

Ukitake laughs at her optimism. "I'll hold you to that!"

The couple needs no more urging. After raising quintuplets, and now having twins on their hands, they snatch up opportunities like this when they present themselves. Ichigo grabs his wife up in his arms and turns to dash for the master bedroom.

"You may be there awhile!" Rukia calls out in her fake schoolgirl voice, and Ichigo nearly drops her.

"Rukia…" His growl is so sexy that she forcibly takes his lips with her own, and jams her tongue down his throat.

Ichigo forgets his annoyance at her schoolgirl tone, and bumps into a few walls as his wife kisses him senseless.

He finally pulls away gasping for air, wishing the master bedroom were closer to the rest of the house so he could toss her into bed and ravish her already.

"If you keep that up Rukia, I'll take you right here against the wall where anybody could see us." Ichigo's threat falls on deaf ears.

"Did I say you could pull away?" She leans in, grabbing at his hair, bringing him right back into a frenzied passionate kiss, and he groans into her mouth, as he seriously contemplates doing her in the hall, since she's already got his nether region throbbing with anticipation.

Takeshi happens to be wandering down the exact same hall, when he catches his parents embracing passionately.

Most kids would be grossed out. Most kids would turn their head the other way. Most kids would try to drink the memory into oblivion. Takeshi smiles, and just walks right past them, completely unnoticed by his parents.

They are lucky the youngest of their quintuplets is so astute. Takeshi actually puts a sign up on the entrance of the hallway, warning everyone to stay out of the hall for the day. It's just as good for Ichigo, because his sexy little wife gets him so turned on, he finally gives in to the temptation, and makes hot love to her right there in the hallway.

* * *

Yuzu has been so caught up in falling in love, that she was totally caught off guard when Ukitake told her he was taking her out for a special dinner. It didn't register or even click in her mind that he was thinking of proposing. She was of the mindset that they were in the prime of simply dating.

"Are you excited about becoming an aunt again?" Ukitake asks, and Yuzu gives him her beautiful genuine smile that always melts him on the inside.

"You mean for the eighth time? Yes I'm excited, but I'm also worried about Karin-chan. She's so worried about giving birth."

"Unohana is a first rate doctor, she couldn't ask for better." Ukitake assures her, and Yuzu nods.

"I know, Rukia-chan told Karin and me that before, but Karin is scared…even though she doesn't complain if she gets cut up during training." Yuzu says, but she can understand.

_It's got to be scary to know you're going to be experiencing pain down there._

"Do you want to be a mother someday?" Ukitake asks next, and Yuzu nods, but not emphatically. It's more of a polite nod.

"Someday." Yuzu says, and Ukitake is surprised, he expected her to react more to that question than what she did.

"I think about being a father." Ukitake admits, and that gets her attention like he'd expected the previous one to.

"You do?" Yuzu's eyes are on him, and Ukitake feels like his heart just skipped a beat.

"I do. I imagine you as the mother." Ukitake says next, and Yuzu gasps.

Ukitake stands up, wanting to ask before their main course arrives. He kneels down in front of Yuzu and pops a ring out of the sleeve of his kimono.

"I can't believe it," Yuzu breathes, as Ukitake looks deep into her eyes.

"Kurosaki Yuzu…I have fallen deeply in love with you. Will you be my wife?"

"Of course I will!" Yuzu doesn't even realize she's spoken, and it feels like she's watching everything happen from far away.

"Yuzu!"

Ukitake catches the girl before she pitches off her chair, and then smiles before gently kissing her cheek.

"Sir, is she alright?" The manager of the restaurant looks horrified as Ukitake grins like nothing has even happened.

"I asked her to marry me and she fainted right after she accepted. It's just fine." Ukitake is able to maneuver the ring onto her proper finger, and get it positioned just right, before she comes to.

When she does, she looks at her hand, and then looks back at him with tears in her eyes.

"Are you sure you want to marry me?" He asks her softly, and Yuzu throws herself into his arms.

"I've never wanted anything more in my life!"

* * *

"Guess what Karin-chan?" Yuzu is breathless from running to find her sister in the huge manor, that she lives in with the rest of her large family.

It's a huge mistake to just bust into Karin's room, Toushirou has her bent over the bed, and he's going at it like the world might end tomorrow.

"Ah!" Yuzu screams and slams the door shut.

Yuzu is forced to plug her ears when she can hear through the door what her sister says to her husband. "If you stop I'll choke you!"

"Why don't they lock the door?" Yuzu moans, anxious to share her good news with her twin.

Yuzu starts to pace in front of her sister's door, holding her ears, but even with her ears plugged, she can hear her sister beginning to achieve a climax, so Yuzu does what she has to do in order to deal with the situation. She uses kidou to create a soundproof barrier in the hallway in front of her sister's room.

Once in the barrier, Yuzu has sweet silence, and the opportunity to remember exactly how Ukitake had proposed. She sighs, caught up in the romance of it all.

_Even though my nephew got married before me, I waited it out and got my right man too…now I'm not the black sheep of the family anymore!_

Yuzu gazes at the huge rock on her finger, and she sighs again. It doesn't look like it belongs there but it _feels_ like it does.

She gets so caught up in remembering the proposal, that she doesn't notice when Karin opens the door, and Karin doesn't notice the barrier…she walks head on into it, but catches herself before she falls on her ass.

She's about to yell at her sister, but then she sees the ring on her sister's finger, and she gasps, wide eyed.

_No wonder she actually waited here! _

"Yuzu!" Karin yells, and waves her arms, finally capturing her daydreaming sister's attention. Yuzu immediately takes down the barrier.

"Karin-chan! Guess what?"

"You're engaged?" Karin says with a smirk, and Yuzu's eyes widen.

"How did you know?"

"When I ran into your barrier, I saw you looking at the ring." Karin says dryly, and Yuzu laughs.

"I'm finally going to get married! I'll try to have a baby soon too, so our kids can grow up to be as close as we are!" Yuzu starts to blubber and Karin opens her arms.

Karin's belly is swollen, along with her breasts, due to how far along she is in the pregnancy, and she feels like a soft cuddly teddy bear to her sister.

"Congratulations! I'm really happy for you, Yuzu! Truly!" Karin suddenly finds that her own eyes are wet, and she cries tears of happiness into her sister's shoulder. Toushirou appears from behind his wife, with a robe on, but a smile on his face.

"I heard, congratulations!" Toushirou says, glad that his wife is blubbering on somebody besides him.

He has realized since his wife got pregnant that calling a pregnant woman an emotional wreck was quite a bit of an understatement. She gets downright crazy sometimes. He can hardly wait until the whole thing is over with, and he can finally hold a baby of his own, in his own arms.

"We should celebrate! Toushirou! Go get us cake!" Karin's voice becomes clipped, quite suddenly, and Toushirou snaps to attention.

"Of course, anything else?" He asks carefully, and he sees Yuzu is pondering the question.

"Some sparkling grape juice, so us girls can have a toast!" Yuzu declares, and Karin grins wickedly.

"You had better not come home with a cake that doesn't have any chocolate in it," Karin's voice leaves no room for argument, and Toushirou is on autopilot.

He doesn't dare to anger her after she just went wild in the bedroom with him. He's hoping to get some more out of her later, and with her libido the way it's been lately, he's pretty optimistic that he'll get exactly what he wants, so long as he doesn't do anything stupid.

* * *

"What's going on here?" Rukia asks as she walks in finding Yuzu and Karin drinking grape juice, and Yuzu holds up her hand.

"Yuzu! You're engaged! Ichigo!" Rukia is yelling, and Ichigo appears in the room with a squirming twin under each arm.

"What?" Ichigo asks, looking worn out by the two giggling rug rats in his grasp.

"Yuzu is engaged." Karin says, since her brother is incapable of noticing the ring like Rukia did.

Ichigo nearly drops his children, but he remembers not to do that and gives his sister a huge smile, while Rukia is hugging her.

"That's awesome! What are you drinking?"

"Grape juice." Yuzu says, and Ichigo wrinkles his nose.

"I'm afraid I'll need something stronger to celebrate. Takara!" Ichigo yells, and his daughter appears in front of him a moment later.

"Dad?"

"Take the twins, I'm going to celebrate with your aunt, since she got engaged." Ichigo explains, and his daughter takes her baby brother and sister.

"Kukiko will help me…congratulations Aunt Yuzu!" Takara says, and her soft spoken aunt smiles at her.

"We'll celebrate later, you, me, and your sister." Yuzu says, and Takara winks at her aunt.

"We'll show you a better time than these geezers here too." Takara smirks when her father scowls at her.

"What do you know about having a good time? Do I need to watch you girls like I watch the babies?" Ichigo asks, his eyes glittering dangerously, and Takara laughs in her father's face, tempting the devil horns to come out.

"Yoruichi-san taught me all I need to know about having fun." Takara says, and she nearly falls over at the look of horror on her father's face at her response. She disappears before her father can start any sort of interrogation and Rukia rolls her eyes at her gullible husband.

"Calm down Ichigo, those girls are less interested in boys than you were in girls when you met me." Rukia says, and she's amused when the look of worry doesn't leave her husband's face.

_I was attracted to you the first day we met! Is that how the girls will be? I may die from stress rather than old age!_

"I really need something strong to drink." Ichigo mumbles, and his sisters laugh at him.

"Sit down Ichigo, I'll get it for you, and then I'll rub your neck." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo smiles gratefully at her.

_She hardly appears to have aged at all since we met….how many children will Rukia actually give me? I want as many as she's willing to give…_

* * *

When Isshin and Masaki get home, they find most of the family sitting in the dining room, drunk off their asses.

"What in the hell?" Isshin asks, but Yuzu isn't drunk, so she smiles proudly at her father and holds up her hand.

"I'm getting married, daddy!"

Isshin tears up, and Masaki lets out a shout of joy before running over to embrace her only unmarried child. While crying, Isshin makes his proclamation to Yuzu.

"Don't go thinking that just because your brother and sister have contributed to me having grandchildren that it lets you off the hook! Dozens more grandbabies won't be enough!" Isshin says, and then he spots Takeshi with his cute wife perched on his lap. "Great grandchildren are also welcome!" Isshin says pointedly to Takeshi, who blushes at getting singled out.

Inoue walks into the room, pushing a double stroller with Ichigo and Rukia's babies in them, smiling at the happy family that she's always wished she was a part of. She's glad that Takara called her over to baby sit while the family celebrates, it gives her the opportunity to pretend it's really all hers, and Rukia is the friend at the house.

"Stop pressuring all of the children to have children!" Masaki says as she kisses Yuzu on the cheek.

"Oh no!" Karin suddenly wails, and everyone looks over at her, trying to understand why she suddenly is in distress.

"Karin-chan?" Yuzu asks, and Karin points down towards her crotch. Masaki nearly falls to the floor.

"Karin's water broke! We've got to get her to Captain Unohana, pronto!" Masaki cries out, and Isshin starts to laugh.

"Karin, I think that's the quickest you've ever obeyed my orders! Another baby!" Isshin yelps, and everyone laughs.

"I can't go anywhere!" Ichigo moans from his chair, he's had way too much to drink tonight.

"You have to!" Rukia orders her husband, and she grabs him up, tossing him over her shoulder like a rag doll.

"Rukia! Put me down!" Ichigo is worried he's going to vomit.

"Don't make me carry you!" Rukia threatens, and Ichigo coughs before responding with a winning argument.

"If you carry me, I'll puke for sure."

Rukia quickly sets him on his feet and watches him sway as his face turns a bit green.

"Maybe you should stay here." Rukia says hesitantly, and Inoue quickly volunteers to keep watching the kids.

Rukia is in a predicament. She's known for the longest time that her friend is attracted to her husband, and she doesn't feel it's wise to leave Inoue with her husband in such a fragile state. Toushirou seems to suddenly notice the situation as well, and he speaks up.

"Why don't you stay here with Kurosaki? You two can come see us in the morning." He says shrewdly, and Rukia jumps at the opportunity to keep her husband company.

"Okay. Inoue, can you still watch the twins? I need to take care of my husband." Rukia says, and she notices that Inoue's face falls just the tiniest bit.

"Of course!" Inoue says, and Rukia smiles at her.

"Okay Ichigo, I'm going to take you to bed." Rukia tells him, and Ichigo wiggles his eyebrows at his wife.

"I feel like I'll have renewed strength once we get there." Ichigo predicts, and Rukia smiles at her husband's audacity. He's extremely forward when he's had a lot to drink, and she knows he's not being completely dirty because Inoue is in earshot.

"I'm counting on it," Rukia assures him, and she tugs her husband off in the direction of their bedroom, leaving Inoue to look after them longingly.

* * *

"She had twins too?" Ichigo says, even though he's not totally shocked. Twins seems to be a normal occurrence in their family. Fraternal twins, one boy and one girl.

"Two in one shot…seems to run in the family!" Rukia says, her words running parallel to Ichigo's thoughts.

"What are their names?" Ichigo asks his sister, and she smiles up at him, looking worn out.

"He is Akiyo and she is Fuyumi" Karin says softly, and her brother grins at her.

"You decided, didn't you?" Ichigo asks, and Karin grins at him.

"Toushirou had to let me decide after watching me go through giving birth." Karin admits, and Ichigo laughs.

"Dad seems happy." Ichigo comments, and Karin rolls her eyes.

"To say he's thrilled would be an understatement. He hired a professional photographer, and had pictures taken of the babies with little Shinigami robes on them. I nearly blasted him with kidou, but mom put a stop to my spell and told me to let him have his fun." Karin says, and Rukia starts to laugh really hard at the way Karin recounts what happened before they got there.

"I think he did that with our kids too, but only when they were old enough to stand!" Rukia says, and Ichigo rolls his eyes.

"You know dad's crazy, but the kids all adore him." Ichigo says, and Karin sighs.

"I know. Ichi-ni?" Karin says, and Ichigo glances at his sister, who is smiling up at him.

"What?"

"Will you and Rukia-chan give us all of your tips and secrets for raising twins?" Karin asks, and her brother laughs while his wife grins at her knowingly.

"We'll teach you everything we know, but I'll warn you now, nothing can truly prepare you for becoming a parent. Just relax and know you've got at least a dozen people willing to help out!" Rukia says, and Karin grins.

"Next up, Yuzu's wedding!" Karin exclaims, and Rukia grins.

_It won't be long before Ichigo's father gets his wish!_

* * *

**A/N-Akiyo means White World & Fuyumi means Winter Fruit according to the Japanese name site I visited.**


End file.
